April Fools' Day
by Sannepan
Summary: Merlin thought the First of April was going to be a day like any other. How wrong he was! The war has only begun... AU
1. Chapter One

**Day one – April the First  
**

"Meeeeeeeeeerliiiiiiiiiiiin!"

Merlin mumbled something in his sleep and turned over. The sky outside was still dark and stars were scattered across over the ink-coloured night. A pale, full moon was just hanging above the horizon, lighting the ground beneath it. Everything was quiet. The silence was interrupted, however, by a loud voice coming from the cabinet.

"Meeeeeeerliiin! Waaaake uuupppp, Meeeeerlin!"

But there was still no response, and it annoyed Arthur immensely. He was sitting with his back against a closed door, which was the entry to Merlin's bedroom. In his hand he held a remote control; he pressed a button to turn up the volume of the CD player, which he had hidden in Merlin's closet. It was his intention to give his room-mate a rude awakening, thus scaring the living daylights out of him. After all, it _was_ April Fools' day! Okay, it didn't have to be a special day to prank Merlin, but it was a perfect excuse...

He had started the tape at 0:02 am, but when he checked his watch, it was 8 minutes later. In that time, he had upped the volume three times, and Merlin still hadn't woken. Trust that raven-haired idiot to do this to him in his moment of glory…

Arthur was getting restless. It was taking too long! He had never known his friend was such a fast sleeper! He decided to help destiny along a bit.

"Meeeerlin!" the tape groaned in an unrecognisable voice, which was definitely Arthur's. Softly, with his knuckles, the blonde tapped the door. When this did nothing, however, he made a fist and slammed it upon the wood. There. _That_ should wake Merlin.

"WHAA!!! WHO?! WHAT? HOW?!" The tumult of confusion sounded from inside the room. Finally! He was awake: Arthur changed the CD to track two.

"Meeeerliiiin, I'm the ghoooost of your scaaaaaaarf's paaaast!" the voice groaned loudly. Arthur heard Merlin shriek; the boy was probably hiding away under his sheets, and Arthur had to hold his hand over his mouth to restrain himself from laughing.

"Meeerliin! Do you rememberrr the scarf you got last yeaaar? For Chrrristmaaaas?"

"Yeeaah… I do? So? Leave me alone!"

"Why did you abandon me, Merlin? Why?"

Merlin took in a sharp breath.

"I didn't abandon you! I look after all my scarves!"

Arthur was sliding to the floor, laughing uncontrollably now, but trying to stay silent. He couldn't miss what was going on! Just wait till he confronted Merlin with this the following morning…!

"You left me, Meeeeerliiiin!"

Arthur just _knew_ Merlin's bottom lip was trembling.

"I didn't leave you. I… I would never leave you –" he started, but a wrenching sob devoured his last few words. Tears were probably running over his cheeks, Arthur thought. He pressed another button and the CD changed to track three. He had carefully planned this, went trough it step by step, and, in the end, perfected it.

"Crying is too late now, Meeeerliiiiin. I'm already looooooost. Foreeevaaaaaaah!"

He heard something moving, and the bed issued a creak. Shaking in his terror, Merlin had pulled the pillow over his head to block out the voice. Arthur airily turned the volume up. The voice was now shouting through the doors of the cabinet, filling the room with an awful noise, quite possibly loud enough to wake the neighbours. And awakened they were! They started banging the walls, creating an even more spooky effect. Arthur made a mental note to thank them for that.

"You left me in the park, leaving me there on the bench, to soak in the rain, to erode by the forces of nature, to be taken by strangers, chewed on by dogs…"

"Noooooo, please stop!" Merlin whined. But the voice carried on.

"…to be thrown in the garbage, to be thrown on a landfill, treated like rubbish and lie there, completely forgot– wait, that isn't right…"

Arthur's eyes widened. He didn't… Oh no! He smacked his hand against his forehead. He had put the wrong track on the CD! While recording it, he had made a mistake in reading the lines.

"Let me do that again," he heard himself saying out of the speaker, with his normal voice. Frantically, Arthur started to search for the remote control, pushing the stop-button a couple of times.

There were a couple of loud thumps, feet crushing down on the wooden floor, and Arthur fell backwards as Merlin opened the door.

"You…" Merlin said, his eyes filled with fire and… remaining tears. "I just knew it was you… Why would you –?!"

"APRIL FOOLS!!!" Arthur yelled, pointing his finger at Merlin. Even though he hadn't reached the end of his prank, he had succeeded perfectly!

"Not funny…" Merlin closed the door in Arthur face.

* * *

**Hi everybody! Thank you for reading! I know this is complete madness again, but I just cannot help it! :P I wanna thank MagicbyMerlin for letting me steal her ideas. Sorry, Gemz!  
Anyway, tomorrow there will be another chapter! And the day after that, and the day after that... and they day after that...**


	2. Chapter Two

It took Merlin the rest of April Fools' day to recover. During breakfast, while drinking his milk, he started sobbing and sniffing out of the blue, spilling his milk all over his pyjamas. Then he began he began gurgling in an inconceivable babble, something about his beloved scarf. Arthur began to feel a bit guilty, but wasn't going to apologize for it.

April the first was a Sunday, so no going to work or shopping. The boys sat on the couch all day, Arthur holding the remote and changing channels if needed. Their feet rested upon the coffee table, carefully avoiding the empty bottles of beer spread out over the tabletop.

In the real world, it rained all day. But 'the sun always shines on TV' – as a band that Arthur adored had sung once upon a time. Arthur had restrained himself from pranking more that day. The stunt he already pulled was enough for Merlin to last a lifetime! His room mate didn't change his clothes all day, afraid to open his cabinet and confront the ghost of his lost scarves, instead spending the entire Sunday in his pyjamas. Every time a scarf appeared on the television, he closed his eyes, waiting for Arthur to change the channel.

Talking about the park was completely out of the question; Merlin would abruptly turn and walk away. Everything red made him shiver, so no tomato soup for dinner. Most of the day saw nothing but silence; Merlin refused to talk to Arthur about anything. If he needed to answer, the replies were short.

"Have you seen my wallet?"

"No."

"Have you heard the new song from Coldplay?"

"Yes."

"You want some tea?"

"Yes."  
Merlin was probably mad with him, and very ashamed, Arthur thought, as he took two dinners out of the freezer and stuck them in the microwave. A couple of minutes later, he handed one of them to Merlin, together with a knife and fork. On Sundays, they'd always eat in front of the TV, watching a football game. Arthur was secretly eyeing Merlin, who was picking his red peppers out of his nasi goreng.

He didn't even notice when a goal was made.

After supper, Merlin just went to his room and climbed into his bed without saying goodnight. Arthur was left on the couch, realising his prank hadn't been such a good idea. Maybe he did need to apologize, and he decided he would do just that tomorrow. He couldn't continue living with this awkwardness between them.

* * *

**Day two – The second of April  
**

It was about 2 a.m., April the second, when Merlin opened his eyes. He knew it was that hour of the night, because the green numbers next to his head said so. It was perfect!  
Completely awake, he stumbled out of bed, softly creeping to the kitchen, where he found the vacuum cleaner standing next to the refrigerator.

Arthur had to get up early in the morning, his work in the supermarket would start at 8 a.m., but he had to wake up at least 2 hours in advance. It always took him ages to wake up properly, feed himself, get himself decent for work, and actually arrive there. With a big grin on his face, Merlin plugged the vacuum cleaner into the wall socket and pressed the big power button. Immediately, the device started to wheeze, sucking up air and blowing it out on the other side.

"I think I will start with Arthur's room," Merlin said out loud, talking to himself. He pulled the hoover towards the room, pushed open the door and began to vacuum up all the dust he could find. The noise woke Arthur.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" he groaned, throwing a pillow at the boy's head.

"I just had the urge to go clean something. Your room seemed like a good place to start," Merlin stated as he pulled off the long end of the pipe and started to vacuum the sheets next to Arthur's head.

"You idiot! I got to work tomorrow morning! Let me sleep!"

"That is the whole point!" Merlin smiled, moving the nightstand to suck up the dust behind it. "Oh, Arthur, you really should vacuum more often. Look at the state of this place. Not to mention the space under your bed…"

The great prank master Arthur had been pranked himself, and in shame he hid his head under the pillow.

"Okay! Okay! I apologize for last night! Now leave!" he said, muffled by the cotton.

"Excuse me?" Merlin asked theatrically. "I didn't hear you!" He turned up the power of the vacuum cleaner, the volume of the wheezing sound turning up as well.

"I'M SORRY!" Arthur yelled.

"Apology not accepted," Merlin stated, and retreated from the room, rolling the hoover along in his wake.

Arthur lay awake all night.

* * *

**I want to thank everybody who has reviewed! It is much appreciated! I will think of you when I eat my chocolate Easter eggs!  
See you again tomorrow?  
MBM: It feels wrong to do this without you... ^^" Hope you have fun writing, though!**


	3. Chapter Three

Arthur had managed to get to work, albeit with dark circles under his eyes. His boss seemed a bit annoyed by this, but decided not to say anything, for it was the first time. Arthur couldn't tell anyway, and all day long he tried to think of a way to make Merlin pay for what he'd done.

While having his lunch break, Arthur had fallen asleep on his chair, slumping down and snoring. A firm push on his shoulder woke him and a voice told him to get back to work. Arthur rubbed his eyes and did as he was told.

When he got back home, Merlin had already prepared some dinner, so after he had eaten and thought up his next move, he went straight to bed. It was Merlin's turn to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen, so Arthur had all the time in the world to sneak into his room and make some adjustments to the alarm clock…

* * *

Merlin hadn't seen Arthur all evening. He sniggered. He'd got his revenge and Arthur now knew how it felt to be tricked! The poor fellow seemed worn out by the lack of sleep, and he must have had a tough day. Like Merlin cared!

Merlin spent the rest of the evening changing the channels on the TV, but when there was nothing interesting on, he opted to reading a book about castles. After a couple of chapters, he decided to go to bed as well; he had to work tomorrow. He put a marker on the right page and climbed into his bed. Before he did, he checked if Arthur had done anything to it, like putting spiders in it, or jelly, or a pine cone. When he was sure his sheets and mattress were perfectly safe to inhabit, he laid his head to rest on the pillow. He closed his eyes, and soon drifted off to the realm of dreams.

* * *

**Day three – Third of April  
**

_"OH, WHAT FUN WE HAD! BUT DID IT REALLY TURN OUT BAD?"_

Even though it is a very nice song, it sounded very loud, shrill and awful. It felt like Suggs from Madness was shouting the lyrics into Merlin's ear, in the hopes that he might go deaf.

"_ALL I LEARNT AT SCHOOL! WAS HOW TO BEND AND BREAK THE RULES!"_

Not wanting to take his hands off his ears, Merlin tried to search for the off button with his elbow. But his eye-elbow coordination wasn't as good as he wanted it to be and he kicked the alarm clock of the nightstand. Suggs kept on screaming.

_"BAGGY TROUSERS!!! BAGGY TROUSERS!!! BAGGY TROUSERS!!!"_

"ARTHUR!!!"

_"BAGGY TROUSERS!!! BAGGY TROUSERS!!! BAGGY TROUSERS!!!"_

Merlin tried to look at the numbers on his alarm clock. It was hard to see – his vision had gone a bit blurry due to the loud noise. He could figure out the number 3 at the beginning, however, which probably meant it was very early in the morning.

While trying to lower the volume with one hand, covering his ears with the pillow using the other, he thought about the previous evening. Arthur usually annoyed him when it was Merlin's turn to do the dishes, but last night he had been very quiet. Now he knew why…

He groaned. Going back to sleep wasn't going to work: he would be thinking too much of how to get his own back on Arthur.

The least he could do was wake Arthur as well, so he climbed out of his bed and walked to the kitchen. He was not careful with the things he used, however; letting a spoon and fork fall into the sink, dropping his plate on the table, roughly pulling back his chair away from the table, coughing loudly. All to wake Arthur, and when he heard a door close with a loud bang, he knew he succeeded.

* * *

**Okay, I admit, I adore Madness... You should listen to 'Lovestruck', it's even madder than me!**

**Anyway, if you have some ideas for me on how I could get the boys to get back at each other, I would definitely appreciate it! In other words: if you know any good pranks I could use... do not hesitate to tell me! :D**


	4. Chapter Four

**Day four – Fourth of April**

"He asked us to look after these packages for a couple of days," Merlin said, putting a couple of carton boxes on the coffee table.

"Hey! I'm watching that!" Arthur exclaimed, lowering his feet from the coffee table, trying to see the moving screen of the television. Suddenly the TV started to cheer and the reporter started to yell about 'the goal of the season'. And Arthur had missed the whole thing.

"NO!" he yelled, grabbing the sides of his head with both hands. "Merlin! You made me miss it!"

"It's only a game, Arthur, don't make a fuss abou –"

"A fuss?! I'm making a _fuss_ about it? This is the best, most important game ever, and I'm _making a fuss about it_? You made me miss the deciding goal, Merlin! And get those boxes out of here! Who are they from, anyway?!"

"Next door neighbours," Merlin said and walked to the kitchen. "Want some coffee?"

"The boxes, Merlin, the boxes! Move them!" Arthur used both hands to point out the packages were clearly in the way. Merlin shrugged. Arthur jumped up from the couch and ran around the coffee table, to sit in front of the TV, only a couple of inches away from the screen.

"Don't think you won't pay for this, Merlin…" he said, mumbling, already focussed on the twenty-two little players running around on the screen. "And make sure to put sugar in that coffee…"

* * *

After the game had ended (Arthur's favourite team loosing terribly) and Merlin had made coffee for the both of them, Arthur had gone out to the shops. There was this second hand store, where they had the most useless stuff money could buy. Old books, movies, paintings, games, cups, tables, lampposts, mattresses, cabinets, stuffed armadillos – almost everything you could think of! Arthur walked straight to the cutlery, where he picked out the most gruesome pieces.

He paid next to nothing for it and went back home to sit on the couch, in plain sight, so Merlin could see what he was doing. Merlin was just in front of him, flicking through an old magazine, when Arthur started to mutter something.

"Soon…" he said, looking at the new-bought knife, sharpening it with an evil leer. Keeping the knife in one hand and the sharpener in the other, he slid it over one side of the blade. The sound it produced made Merlin shiver. He swallowed away the big lump forming in his throat, trying to look like he didn't care, but he was actually afraid of the precision with which Arthur sharpened the knife.

"Soon, soon…" Arthur said again, carefully looking Merlin in the eye. He could see the hidden fear in those eyes, but it wasn't going to stop. He needed revenge…

* * *

**Sorry, this one was very very very short... :$  
Thanks for all the pranks you have send me! A few of them I already used, and they will be added somewhat in the end of the story... So just wait!**


	5. Chapter Five

**Day five – The fifth of April  
**

After work, Merlin went to the nearest shop he could find.

"What are the pinkest you have?" he asked the shopkeeper, who was wearing a name-tag which said 'Gaius'. _Odd name_, thought Merlin. Gaius looked through an enormous pile of socks and pulled out a nice pink pair.

"These, sir."

"Do you have more of them? I need…" Merlin started to count on his fingers, "Kitchen, his room, mine, front door, bathroom. I need at least five pairs, please."

After a while of franticly searching the entire shop, Merlin ended up with six pairs of socks, all differing in size, but all pink. The shopkeeper found the boy a bit odd, buying so many socks in that colour, but he was glad he was rid of them. Pink socks were hard to sell, and the fellow had bought six of them!

On his way home, using the subway for a change, he held the plastic bag protectively on his lap. People might have been staring at him, holding onto a plastic bag that tight. Just to let you know, if you were one of those people, Merlin really did not care. All the way, he kept thinking about Arthur's face. Only the thought of it made him smile. He was hoping his friend would be fast asleep this night and wouldn't wake when Merlin was preparing his next prank…

* * *

After dinner, a long night of non-talking went by. Arthur still seemed angry about missing the goal and Merlin just didn't _want_ to talk. Finally they both went to bed.  
Merlin laid on top of his sheets, waiting for Arthur to fall asleep. When forty-five minutes had past, he grabbed the bag from his nightstand and started to prepare. He laid the socks out on his bed, ripping off the price tags and other useless stuff. On the tips of his toes, he sneaked out of his room, decided that he wanted to start with Arthur's room.

* * *

Arthur was happily dreaming of health, riches and soccer, when he noticed his door opening. He wasn't awake, however, but in this half-asleep-half-awake state. The one in which you take in the things that happen around you, but don't process them. Arthur saw Merlin sneaking into his room and hang something on the doorknob. He didn't ask himself what it was Merlin was doing; he didn't even knew it was Merlin, nor did he recognize the sock that was now hanging from the doorknob. When he closed his eyes (because that's what normal people do when try to sleep) all of the thoughts drifted away with his consciousness.

So when Arthur woke up next morning, he remembered nothing of it at all. He dressed himself and was almost ready to leave, when he wanted to open his door to the hallway. The thing he found there shocked him. There was a very ugly pink sock hanging from his doorknob. It had been taped to stay secure with duck tape, making Arthur's attempts to remove it unsuccessful.

He did manage to open the door, somehow, but he encountered another assaulted doorknob. This sock was even pinker than the one in his own room. Arthur shook his head with a smile as he entered the bathroom. This must have been the most useless prank he had ever come by, but he liked it.

On his way to the front door, he counted a total of five socks. The outside of the front door held three pinks ones, one on the doorknob and two on the hinges. People who were passing by turned to look at the strange sighting. Arthur waved at them.

* * *

**Hia! Sorry I was a bit chaotic last night. And late... I had to work all day. This morning I made my brother watch Dr. Who (in which I succeeded... Yeaaaaah!) He totally enjoyed it, even though he doesn't want to admit it!  
Pranks are always appreciated! (So are reviews, messages, yarn, hats and pink socks.) **


	6. Chapter Six

**Day six – The Sixth of April  
**

The doorbell rang.

"Are you getting that, Merlin?" Arthur said, flicking through a magazine on the couch.

"Can't you get it?" a voice said from the bathroom.

"No, because I'm busy."

"Fine," Merlin sighed and washed the white foam out of his hair. He turned off the streaming water and wrapped a towel around his waist. Being careful not to slip on the wet floor, he managed to get to the front door. The bell rang again, but this time it sounded agitated.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Merlin said, pulling open the door. The towel he was holding in one hand slipped and fell to the floor when he saw who it was on the other side of the door. He ducked to pick up the towel and secured it around his waistline.

"Err, hello, sir."

"No need for introductions. Where's my s –… There's something different about you…" Uther pointed at Merlin's head, like he was accusing him of something.

"Err, no sir, I've done nothing," Merlin said, trying to remember if he had changed anything about himself. No, nothing.

"Have you cut your hair? It looks different!" Uther said, narrowing his eyes. Behind his back, Merlin heard Arthur sniggering. That could never be a good thing.

"Never mind, where is my son?" Uther continued. "And put some clothes on!"

Merlin opened the door to let Uther in. Arthur was still lying on the couch, but he had dropped the magazine to the floor, holding both arms crossed over his stomach, trying to keep himself from laughing. When Uther noticed, he started shaking his head in disappointment.

"Yeah, errr, I…" Merlin mumbled, pointing at his room. "…if you need me… I'll… be… there…"

Uther waved his hand dismissively, not looking at Merlin. He kept staring at his son Arthur, who was still spread out on the couch, laughing like someone who would be more at home in a lunatic asylum. Arthur had no intention at all to sit up and make way for his father.

* * *

Merlin entered his room and walked straight over to his mirror. His reflection startled him and he had to sit on his bed to catch his breath. His hair… his raven black hair…

No.

He swallowed and touched his hair, which was now blond. Very, very blond. This could only be one person…

"_ARTHUR_! I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!" he screamed, running into the living room to where Arthur was now sitting on the couch. But not for long, however, because he started laughing again, falling off the sofa in doing so.

"Meerrl-hi-hi-hin!" Arthur managed to get out, as he grabbed the table to stabilize himself, still unable to stop laughing "THE TOWEL!"

Merlin's eyes flicked down.

"Oh crap."

His face turned bright red, as did the rest of his body, and he ran back to his room. Uther stayed seated on the couch, his hands on his knees. He shook his head once more.

"How could you have ever chosen this idiot for your roommate, Arthur?"

Arthur frowned. He took great pleasure in making Merlin a figure of amusement, but he did not like it when other people decided to do his 'job' of poking fun at his friend for him. Especially when it was his father.

"Okay, its time you went now," Arthur said as he stood up and made his way to the door. He hoped his father would get the obvious hint, but it seemed he didn't.

"But I've only just arrived!"

"Father… I have to go to work in a minute. If you would be so kind to –"

"ARTHUR! I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!!!!" Merlin came running into the living room again, this time fully clothed in a shirt and trousers. Arthur let out a small snort; he just couldn't help it.

"Nice hair…" Another snort. "Merlin."

"HOW DID YOU DO THIS?!" Merlin yelled, pointing at his hair. "UNDO THIS! NOW!"

"I can't! Read the bottle!" Arthur sniggered.

"What bottle…"

"The shampoo one!"

"Gotcha." Arthur grinned, clapping Merlin on the back. Merlin didn't seem to appreciate it and sulkily pushed Arthur's hand away.

"Don't worry, Merlin. It'll grow back!" Arthur said.

"I will celebrate the day when you grow up, son," Uther said, walking out of the door, checking his watch. He hoped he was still on time for his meeting.

"I hope I won't live to see that day, father," Arthur replied softly and closed the door. He jumped back on the sofa and tried to find the right page in the magazine.

* * *

**Please, don't kill me for turning Merlin into a blond person! ^^" It will return to it's normal again, I promise! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Day seven – April 7****th**

"ARTHUR, LET ME IN!" Merlin was banging his fist on the closed door. "I HAVE TO GO TO WORK IN A MINUTE! LET ME IN! I NEED A SHOWER!"  
Arthur was brushing his teeth in front of the mirror.

"You took a shower yesterday…" he said, little white specks of foam flying all over the place as he spoke. "Do you need one everyday? Do you remember who pays the bills for water and electricity?"

"So?" the door said.

"It's costing me a lot of money!"

"Arthur, you're the richest person I know…"

"Correction, my dad is the richest per –"

"WHATEVER! LET ME IN!" Merlin started banging on the door again. No way it was going to open this way. He wasn't really handy with tools, but he knew where Arthur kept his screwdrivers. So he ran to the kitchen, yanked open the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink and pulled out a large screwdriver.

Trying not to run ('never run with scissors' would probably apply to screwdriver too), he went back to the bathroom door and stood on his knees. Just beneath the doorknob, which was still covered with a pink sock, was a little screw. If Merlin was able to turn it, he could open the door and take a shower.

The screw didn't go easy, but eventually it turned and the little red stripe above it coloured white, meaning the door was open. Merlin dropped the screwdriver on the floor and jerked the bathroom door open, scaring the living daylights out of Arthur. Arthur was so startled, he wasn't able to move for a couple of seconds, giving Merlin time to get into the shower.

"HA!" he yelled as he turned on the hot water. Quickly, he squirted some shampoo in his now blonde hair and started to wash it.

Arthur blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"How did you…?" he mumbled, turning his gaze from Merlin to the door and back again. Merlin seemed proud of himself.

"A screwdriver!"

"You didn't use a knife?"

"Why would I use a knife?"

"That's what girls would do… "

"I'm no girl!" Merlin protested. Arthur shrugged. His face showed pure evilness, but Merlin didn't notice. Some shampoo had gotten into his left eye and he was rubbing it franticly to get it out.

Arthur's hand reached for the button on the water tank of the toilet. He pushed – the toilet flushed – Merlin screamed.

"COLD! SO COLD!" he yelled, hopping up and down underneath the icy stream. He pulled away the shower curtain and jumped away from the cold water. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT???"

"Because it's highly amusing! You should try it! Oh, wait… please don't, but if you do, target anyone but me!" Arthur sniggered. "Aren't you supposed to be at work by now?"

Merlin checked the clock near the sink. Fluffy shampoo was still in his hair and was running down his face. He gasped and jumped back into the shower. The water had turned warm again, so he flushed the shampoo out of his hair. After he had closed the curtain again.

Arthur's hand sneaked towards the button again. But he was stopped in his tracks.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

Arthur pushed the button anyway. Before the water in the toilet started to flow, Merlin leapt out of the shower, dried himself with a towel, dressed himself and ran out the front door. And all in a matter of seconds.

Arthur pouted. Life wasn't fair.

* * *

**It is a short one again, sorry!**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Day 8 – The Eighth of April  
**

Arthur opened the fridge to grab a quick snack. He was just craving for a piece of leftover pizza from the night before. Neither of them felt like cooking, so they ordered in. Merlin, the girl, wasn't able to eat the whole pizza and put the rest in the refrigerator. The box lay on the top shelve surrounded with bottles of milk, a tub of butter, a watermelon and a few pieces of bacon.

The strange thing was they all had post-it notes stuck on them. For instance, the milk post-it said 'don't drink'. Which was scary. Maybe it had gone bad? But the date said it wasn't for another two days. Why was there note then? Arthur put the milk back and checked the watermelon.

"Don't eat," it said in Merlin's unreadable handwriting. Arthur wanted to know the better of this; too bad Merlin was already at work. To the phone! Arthur took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled Merlin's number.

"Yeh'ello," Merlin's voice said, a bit creaky but definitely Merlin.

"Merlin, why is the fridge filled with post-its telling me not to eat anything?" Arthur asked.

There was a silence.

"Because you shouldn't!" was the reply, where after there was a click and a beeping sound. Merlin had hung up, leaving Arthur startled on the other side of the connection. He decided to dial again. Sooner then before, Merlin picked up.

"Yeh'ello."

"Merlin, why are the post-its saying not to eat anything?" Arthur asked again. He was pacing around the room, a strange habit he had while making a phone call.

"Like I said, don't eat it! You will die if you do!" Click, disconnected. Arthur stared at his phone, annoyed. Why would he die?

His mind started to create all kinds of situations. Had all the food gone bad? Had the electricity been cut last night, letting the fridge warm up, making the food go rotten? Or was it all fake, planned by Merlin? It was probably the latter, but Arthur wasn't going to stake his life on it. He checked all of the other cabinets in the kitchen, but the only edible things he could find were breadcrumbs and oatmeal. HE WANTED PIZZA!

Arthur sulked back to the couch, hungry.

* * *

When Merlin returned and took off his coat, Arthur was still sitting in the same spot. Merlin sniggered behind his hand.

"Did you enjoy your pizza?" he asked with a grin. Arthur made a weird sound as a reply – it probably meant no. Merlin walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. The pizza was still untouched, the bottle was still filled with milk and the watermelon was still in one piece. Merlin checked the cabinets; the oatmeal and breadcrumbs boxes were still closed. Which meant Arthur hadn't eaten all day.

"Yes! Mission succeeded!" Merlin made a fist and punched the air.

"Merlin, what are you doing there?" Arthur asked.

"Nothing, nothing… Want something to eat?"

* * *

**For some strange reason, the traffic page says I only had 10 visitors to my story yesterday, which made me sad. :\ I hope it is just a bit broke, and I will not believe it!  
And for some other strange reason, the stories do seem to get shorter and shorter... I didn't mean to! *sniffle***


	9. Chapter Nine

**Day 9 – Ninth of April  
**

"Arthur, wake up," Merlin said, opening Arthur's bedroom door.

"Why?" was Arthur's slow reply. He lifted his sleepy head off his pillow and blinked his eyes a couple of times.

"You're going to be late for work!"

"What if I don't want to go to work?"

Merlin didn't really know how to answer to this question. Wasn't it quite obvious what would happen if Arthur didn't go? No job, no money, no food? Okay, Merlin had his own job, but it sure wasn't enough to keep them both alive and nourished!

"Suit yourself." Merlin shrugged. One day wouldn't hurt, right?

"Merlin?" Arthur had turned in his bed and closed his eyes to fall asleep again.

"Yes, Arthur?"

"Can you call me in sick?"

"Why? Are you?" Merlin frowned.

"Am I what?"

"Sick?"

"Do I look sick?"

"No, but –"

"Would you mind calling my boss to tell him I don't feel so good?"

"Um, sure." Merlin closed the bedroom door behind him as he left Arthur's room. He could think about this strange behaviour later, but first he had to call Arthur's boss. The phone was next to the TV and the number was on a writing pad lying next to it.

"Mr Smith! Hi! It's Merlin, Arthur's room mate. Yeah, I know he has to work today, but that is why I'm calling. You see, Arthur isn't feeling so we –… I know, Sir, he should sleep better, no, he can't come out of his bed… Okay, sir, I will tell him that. Thank you, sir. Good day, sir." Merlin hung up the phone.

* * *

Merlin should have known Arthur was feeling perfectly fine. When he got back to his flatmates' room, the bed was empty. Instead of taking a nap to get better, Arthur was lying on the couch with the TV on. He was watching the morning news and yawned. When he saw Merlin staring at him, an angry look on his face, Arthur turned red.

"Will you understand when I tell you I really didn't want to go to work today?" he asked, pressing some buttons of the remote control to change the channel.

"Not exactly, but I don't care," Merlin said, shrugging.

Arthur sniggered and he hoped his face didn't show what he was thinking. Now he had taken the day off, and Merlin was staying home all day as well, it was a perfect opportunity to get back at his room mate! Again, but who cared…  
_  
In this epic war, peace is nowhere near!_ Arthur thought, changing the TV back to the news, where a lady was droning on about the weather. Merlin was about to turn away and walk to the kitchen to make some breakfast, when Arthur suddenly jumped up from the sofa and followed him.

* * *

"Can you pass me the peanut butter?"

Merlin was just finished with it and handed it over to Arthur.

"And a knife, too?"

Merlin gave Arthur a knife. With it, Arthur tried to scoop some peanut butter out of the jar to put on his piece of bread.

"Can you give me a jar that isn't empty?"

"We ran out of peanut butter." Merlin grinned. "There is some strawberry jelly in the fridge, if you want."

Arthur sighed. The fridge scared him; some of the contents still had those scary post-its on them, even though the stuff inside it was very edible. He still opened the door, grabbed some cheese and the jelly and closed it again as soon as he could. Merlin eyed Arthur as he started to put jelly and cheese on the same piece of bread. Arthur noticed.

"Don't you know this is tasty?" he said, pressing the two slices together and putting it on a plate. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Merlin blinked his eyes, mouth slightly agape. Cheese and jelly? Was he sure about Arthur not being sick? He decided not to say anything and finished up his own sandwich. He had put chicken in it, which he had bought yesterday from the supermarket. There was this girl, dark hair, very nice eyes, who had offered it to him. He couldn't resist those eyes and took the chicken with him. Stupid, he had forgotten to ask her name…

But they had run out of peanut butter! A perfect reason to go back to the supermarket and buy… chicken?

"Merlin? Can you bring me some milk?" Arthur shouted from the living room. Merlin sighed… What was it with all the questions?! Why did Arthur need to know so much? Or just need so much? Why couldn't he get it himself? Suddenly it hit him what Arthur was on about.

"Yes, I can," he shouted back, not bringing any milk at all when he walked back to the TV and slumped on the sofa next to Arthur.

"Where is my milk?" Arthur asked.

"In the fridge."

"Why?"

"I was afraid it would go bad if I took it out." Merlin stared at the ad on the TV and Arthur cringed.

"Are you sure?"

"Are _you_ sure?" Merlin said, looking dead serious. If Arthur was going to play it like this, so was he!

"I asked you the question first, didn't I?" Arthur crossed his arms.

"That isn't a reason not to answer, now is it?"

"That may be true, but how do you know it isn't?"

Merlin sighed and closed his eyes in agony, realizing to late that was what Arthur wanted, to get him annoyed. Arthur smirked. His plan has succeeded! Not the best plan ever, but he did it and it still was early in the morning! He had planned to keep asking questions until they both went to bed in the evening.

But Merlin had a new approach.

"That may be true, but how do you know it isn't?"

"I just said that, didn't I?"

"I just said that, didn't I?"

"Why are you repeating everything I say?"

"Why are you repeating everything I say?"

Arthur scratched his head. Merlin scratched _his_ head. Okay, Arthur thought, Merlin wasn't going to expect this!

"Merlin is stupid."

"Arthur is stupid."

Arthur frowned. Merlin smirked.

* * *

**Okay! Raise your hand (hint: means review ;) ) it you figured it out before Merlin did! :D I would love to know!  
Anyway, thanks for reading and all of the reviews I got so far! Made me all so happy! They always do!  
And if you know any more pranks... Don't hesitate, they're always welcome! **


	10. Chapter Ten

**Day 10 – Tenth of April  
**

"Want some coffee?"

Arthur was sitting at the kitchen table, his head buried in his hands. It was early in the morning – too early. He tried to cover his eyes from the bright kitchen light, but it seemed to pierce his skin and burn his eyelids. Merlin was holding a coffee pot in one hand and a cup in the other, ready to pour Arthur a mug. His room mate really was looking awful, but no way he was feeling sorry for him!

"Do you want some strong, hot, coffee to get rid of that horrible hang-over?"

Arthur groaned – probably a form of yes – although mostly incomprehensible – and Merlin filled the mug, put sugar and milk in it and placing it in front of Arthur. Arthur peeked through his fingers, wincing in the light, saw the mug and quickly curled his fingers around it. Cooooffeeeeee! He just knew it was going to comfort his headache immediately, and brought it to his lips.

"Wait! I have forgotten to stir!" Merlin suddenly yelled, pulling the mug out of Arthur's hands and starting to stir it with a teaspoon. Arthur groaned once more. He needed his coffee! And now! Quick! As soon as Merlin gave him back the mug, Arthur took a big sip, forgetting that it was hot. He didn't mind, though, coffee was coffee and a burnt tongue was probably better than the headache he had.

But as the liquid touched his taste buds, and Arthur's brain processed what was going on, Merlin felt sorry for not bringing an umbrella. Arthur spew out the coffee through his lips, creating a dark coloured shower, and it was aimed straight at Merlin.

Merlin never knew it was able to rain coffee, but as he was soaked with it, he remembered himself not to question anything any more.

"WHAT THE…! MERLIN?! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE COFFEE?!" Arthur yelled, one hand still over his eyes. He threw the rest of the liquid in the sink, filled his cup with water and started to rinse his mouth a couple of times.

"What are you talking about?" Merlin tried to deny. He couldn't stop smiling.

"THE SALT! WHY DID YOU PUT SALT IN MY COFFEE?!"

"I did? I am _so_ sorry!"

* * *

**Laaaaaaame.... I know, but I still wanted to write it. :)**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Day 11 – The Eleventh of April  
**

Merlin sat down at the table, taking up this fork and knife and waited for Arthur to put the cooked meal down on the table so he could dig in. His stomach was rumbling heavily, crying out that it was completely empty and it needed to be filled, quick! The clock had already reached 8 p.m. and Merlin wondered what took Arthur so long to finish preparing dinner.

"Arthurrrrr… Hungry!" Merlin grumbled as he sat energetically on his chair, tapping his feet on the floor and drumming his fists with the cutlery on the table.

"Shh! It's not done yet! You have to wait!" Arthur replied, facing the cooking stove and stirring a giant pan. He knew that it was getting a bit late, but he went to the stores before he had begun cooking. "Almost there…"

"Aw, come on! It's not going to get any better!" Merlin had no idea what Arthur had been brewing, but it smelt heavenly… "Just serve it before I die of starvation!" His stomach showed that it agreed and made a loud gurgle.  
Arthur chuckled evilly, making sure that Merlin couldn't hear him… This was going to be sooo good…

"Okay, okay, but don't blame me if it isn't any good," he said, picking up the pan and carrying it over to the table. The moment he placed it on the tabletop, Merlin pulled off the lid and started to scoop heaps of nasi goreng onto his plate.

"Nasi goring," he scoffed. "That doesn't take all night to prepare… What have you been doing?" Arthur tried to hide his smirk.

With the biggest spoon he could find, Merlin was shovelling the nasi into his mouth, trying to satisfy his aching stomach. He was wondering why Arthur wasn't sitting down at the table and eating some food himself… and then suddenly he realised why.

Before he could even swallow his food, it felt like his whole mouth was on fire. Not a small one… No, an _inferno_. Merlin dropped his spoon and looked over at Arthur, who was still trying to hide the grin on his face.

"Ahhrtuh?"

"Yes? Merlin?"

"Whah… have you…" Merlin didn't dare to move his tongue around in his mouth, scared that it would melt and stick on the inside of his cheek.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked.

"I's hoh."

"Excuse me?"

"Hoh!"

"Oh! You mean hot? That's probably the sambal…"

Merlin was desperately trying to look like nothing was wrong with him. He actually felt like he could spit fire, jump out of the window to let the fresh air cool down his mouth, or kill Arthur. But he tried to keep his face straight; he really didn't want Arthur to win this one.

But it was very, very, _very_ difficult.

Maybe he would feel better after he had killed Arthur.  
The chair scraped the floor as Merlin pushed it backwards and stood up slowly. He could feel himself sweating – that was probably due to the sambal. But nothing was going to stop him now!

"You…. you….WRAAAAAARGH!" That was the actual sound Merlin made when he dashed towards Arthur.

Arthur stood frozen to the floor; he hadn't expected this?! How was he going to defend himself? The drawer with the kitchen knifes was within his reach, but a bit too drastic for his taste. But Merlin really seemed furiously keen. How was he going to fight him off?

He grabbed the wooden spoon he had been using for his cooking and waited for Merlin to come near enough. But Merlin's unconscious mind seemed to have other ideas. Still within his dash towards Arthur, Merlin curved off to the right and was now dashing towards the refrigerator.

"MILK!!!!" he screamed as he pulled at the handle of the fridge. "I NEED MILK!!!" Arthur couldn't hold it in any more and slumped down the cabinets to laugh frantically on the floor. Merlin's eyes grew wide when he kept pulling at the refrigerator's door and wasn't able to open it.

Every time he pulled, the door would open an inch or so, but seemed to get stuck on something. If Merlin should peek in, he could the milk standing…  
Dear… precious… fresh… cold… milk… Milk that would sooth his taste buds, his tongue, even his teeth. Out of reach because the door was secured by a combination lock.

Arthur.

Arthur was still lying on the floor; laughing so hard he would probably loose his voice the following day. He didn't notice that Merlin was staring at him, wanting to throw daggers at him, put him in the locked fridge to freeze him until his toes fell off. But Merlin knew that he couldn't do all those the things; he didn't have enough daggers and the fridge needed to be unlocked before he could put Arthur in it.

Thankfully, the fire in his mouth had seemed to lay down a bit and wasn't as furious as it had been. But revenge was needed instantly. He leapt into action. Arthur never knew what hit him. Merlin jumped on his back and started to tickle his sides.

"WHAHAHA! PLEASE!!! WHAAAAA!!!! STOP!!!! AAAAAARGH!!! I CAN'T!!!!!"

"SAY YOU'RE SORRY!" Merlin yelled in his ears as he continued to tickle Arthur when the boy tried to turn on his back to fight Merlin off.

"HIIIIII!!!! STOP IT!!! AAAAHH!!" Arthur tried to take hold of Merlin arms and push them away, but his own arms were flailing around uncontrollably as Merlin kept tickling.

"SAY – YOU – ARE – SORRY!!!" Merlin yelled again. He was not stopping until Arthur had apologized.

"I… HAAHAHAAAA! I CAN'T!!!!!"

"YOU WILL BE WHEN I AM FINISHED WITH YOU!" Merlin felt Arthur sneak away from him. The boy was already sprinting towards the door by the time Merlin was able to get to his feet and follow him to the living room. Arthur jumped over the couch, but Merlin was able to grab his foot and they both tumbled to the floor.

"NO! PLEASE!!! NO MORE!!!" Arthur chuckled as he raised his arms up in defeat.

"SAY IT!"

"Say what?"

"SAY YOU WILL NEVER DRUG MY FOOD WITH SAMBAL AGAIN!"

"NO!"

Merlin set his fingers into Arthur's sides again, trying to persuade his room mate.

"SAY IT!"

"I WILL NEVER DRUG YOUR FOOD WITH SAMBAL!"

"AGAIN!"

"I WILL NEVER DRUG YOUR FOOD WITH SAMBAL _AGAIN_!"

"Thank you," and with that Merlin walked back to the kitchen to find something else to eat.  
Arthur stayed on the floor for a few minutes, regaining his breath, and he smirked. He was happy Merlin hadn't defined his demands that properly…

He would drug his food with wasabi next.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Day 12 – Twelfth of April**

Arthur came in the kitchen and started to open the cabinets so roughly, that Merlin was afraid that he was going to rip the doors off.

"You all right?" Merlin asked as he downed his glass of milk.

"There's a… there's a… there's a…" Arthur stuttered as he lifted up the curtain and check behind it.

"What?"

"A man," Arthur mumbled softly as he ducked to check under the table.

"What man?" Merlin asked as he stood up and walked to the door to the living room. Indeed, there was a man sitting on their couch, completely dressed in black. "Ah! That man!" he said and walked back to his chair at the kitchen table.  
Arthur held a hand against his head and panted slightly and Merlin could tell his room mate was scared.

"What to do… what to do?" Arthur hissed as he look around bewildered, not knowing what to do.

"Arthur? What's going on?"

Arthur seemed to jump a bit and looked at Merlin with eyes like saucers.

"He wants coffee."

"Soooo… go make him some coffee?"

"Merlin… we have no coffee!" Arthur squeaked. "You drank it all!"

"Then go make him some tea?" Merlin replied and took a bite from his piece of bread. Arthur grabbed him by the shoulders.

"He has a gun!" he whispered and looked at the closed door. Merlin spit out the piece of bread he was chewing on.

"Really?!"

"Yeah, I saw it when he entered… It was big and black and…"

"You think he's a…?" Merlin paused.

"A… what?"

"An assassin, or something?"

"He does look like an assassin… I mean, with all the black and all."

"But why does he want to kill you?"

"Me? Who says he's here to kill me? Why not you? What have I done wrong!" Arthur whined and hid his head in his hands. "I AM TOO SEXY TO DIE!"

"Shhh, Arthur, he will hear you! There will be hell to pay if he hears us!"

Arthur nodded furiously.

"What should we do? We can't leave him there! He'll get suspicious!" he whispered.

"You're right. You stay here; you're acting way too fishy. I will go in there and give him some tea. Then I will come back here and we can see what we do next… Okay?"

"Okay…"

Merlin poured some water in the kettle and waited for it to boil. He scooped some black tea in a teapot and added the water. He sighed before he opened the door and carried the tray with all the necessary objects into the living room. As the door closed after him, Arthur decided to hide in a cabinet.

"Nice outfit, Gaius." Merlin smirked as he put down the tray and poured the man from the sock-shop a cup of tea. "Want some sugar with that?"

"Yes, please. I have no idea what kind of stunt you wanted to pull, but it seemed it worked out great," Gaius said, stirring his tea.

"Thanks to you, yeah! You should have seen his face when he came back into the kitchen. He's scared to death! Well, enjoy your tea, it's time for me to go back in the kitchen." Merlin wiggled his eyebrows and Gaius laughed.

"Have fun!" Gaius said as he laid back into the couch, lifted his feet upon the table and started to check out the room.

"Phew…" Merlin sighed as he slid back into the kitchen and softly closed the door behind him. The kitchen was empty. "Arthur?"

Yessss… Merlin smirked as the cabinet door next to the kitchen opened and a shaky Arthur rolled out.

"Is he gone?" Arthur asked, but Merlin shook his head.

"No, he was asking me if you would return…"

Arthur immediately jumped over to the window, seeing if there was any possibility of escape. But they were four storeys high and climbing down would mean certain death. Then he checked for air-vents, but there were none of them in the kitchen.

"Do you have your phone on you?" Arthur asked as he patted his pockets in search of his own mobile.

"No, so no way of contacting the police. Damn."

"What are we going to do, Merlin?!"

"Well," Merlin began. "We can stay here and eventually starve to death, or go in there and confront him. Maybe outbid him, I mean, it's not like you don't have the money…"

"Yeah… yeah… let's do that!" Arthur said, staring at the closed door. "You go first, though."

"No! I already brought him his tea! It's your turn now!"

Arthur was about to protest again, when Merlin gave him a 'or-are-you-a-girl?' look, the one that always dared him into doing things he was afraid to normally do.

"You're right!" he said as he straightened his back and laid his hand on the doorknob. He waited a second before he turned and pushed it open.

Gaius looked up from his magazine as he saw a shivering Arthur standing in the doorpost. He put on his most evil 'assassin' face before he stood up and let the magazine drop onto the table. Merlin, who was standing just behind him, pushed Arthur forward.

"Errr, sir?" Arthur squeaked, as he tried to look anywhere but at the man's face.

"What."

"Could you, please, I mean…"

"Spit it out, boy."

Arthur closed his eyes, trying to pick the right words; no way he was going to survive this if the man became angry.

"Pleaaaaaase! Don't kill meeee! I am too blonde to dieeeee!" he yelled as he turned around and grabbed Merlin for protection.

The man started to laugh, harder and harder. A while later, Merlin started sniggering along and was soon rolling over the floor. Arthur was watching them both.

"I don't _beeelliiiveee_ it! Merlin! His face! Fabulous! Thanks for that!"

"Hahahahahaha! No, thank you, Gaius! Want some cookies with that?"

Arthur pouted, his face bright red. He turned and went into the kitchen to hide in the cabinet.

* * *

**Yay! Traffic's up again! Anyway, thank you all for reviewing! Especially now I am a bit sick... :( They make me feel a load better! :D  
And if you know some good pranks... please give them to me! (Or else this story will have an ending soon... :-| )  
Thanks to MagicbbyMerlin for turning the guy into Gaius and making him say "I don't belieeeeeeeve it...". I wouldn't have come up with it myself. :)**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Day 13 – Thirteen****th ****of April**

The thirteenth of April. Even though it wasn't Friday, Merlin never liked the thirteenth day of the month. Because 13 was his 'unlucky' number.

Arthur had never been such a person, never believing in all that _superstitious_ _nonsense_. When he was with Merlin, he would always walk under a ladder, always cross the black cat and always spill some salt if he was able to. Merlin would point out that it would mean bad fortune, but Arthur would just shrug and mumble something about not believing it.

Merlin never liked the thirteenth of the month, and Arthur knew it.

So when Merlin woke up that morning, he was sure to check if he got out of bed on the right side (even though he had no idea what the wrong side of the bed was). However, when Merlin woke up that morning, he wasn't lying in his bed…

How he hated Arthur…

He was lying, on his back, on top of the kitchen table with his pillow under his head, covered by his sheets. And sleeping on a table means… bad fortune. Merlin threw away the covers and jumped on the kitchen floor to turn seven circles clockwise to break the spell. But as he jumped, something fell to the floor with a thud. A saltcellar, that Arthur had placed on the edge of the table, tipping over as Merlin would touch it. There now was a heap of salt lying on the floor, next to Merlin's feet.

He whined softly, ducked to pick up some salt and throw it over his shoulder. At that moment, Arthur came walking in with a huge grin on his face.

"So, how's today going for you, Merlin?"

"Perfectly fine, thank you," Merlin said as he threw the salt over his shoulder at Arthur, who jumped out of the way just in time.

"Did you sleep well?" Arthur asked as he opened the fridge (the lock had gone) and took out the milk.

"Hmm. Kind off. My back hurts a bit." Merlin was wondering how Arthur was able to get him up there without waking him. Maybe it had something to do with the tea. Arthur had made for him the night before…

"Well, I gotta go to work in a minute…" Arthur said as he poured himself a glass of milk and placed the carton back in the fridge. "So you'll have the house to yourself."_ With all the traps you've placed for me,_ Merlin sighed mentally, but smiled at his flatmate.

* * *

"Have fun today!" Arthur said, closing the front door behind him. Merlin was still sitting in the kitchen, resting his elbows on the table, head in his hands. How was he ever going to survive this day? He just knew that Arthur had planned more stuff around the house that would give him bad luck.

But he couldn't stay in the kitchen all day, right? That would mean giving in to Arthur, and that was just plain pathetic. He slammed his fists down on the table.

"I am going to do this!"

Merlin jumped up from his chair, which felt backwards onto the floor and turned towards the door. Fine, he was going to be _fine_, if he just avoided most things that would bring him bad fortune.

But as soon as he left the kitchen, he had made his first mistake. A ladder was leaning against the wall and Merlin had walked right underneath it. Darn! Merlin turned seven times again, to be rid of the charm.

"Okay, calm down… Look around a bit more," he mumbled to himself before he continued back to him room. He had to cross the living room for that. Taking slow and small baby steps, sliding through the room.

"Miauw?"

"IEEEEEEEK!" Merlin squeaked and jumped on top of the couch. A cat! There was a _black_ cat standing in front of him and it was staring at him with big, round, yellow eyes.

"Miaaauw!" The cat jumped on top of the couch and approached Merlin, purring.

"Get away! Get away!" Merlin screamed as he jumped off the couch, sprinted towards his room and closing the door behind him with a slam.

"Miauw?" the cat whined through the door and scratched the doorpost to try and gain entrance. But Merlin had already lost interest in the cat…

Freaking Arthur…

There was a string attached to the doorknob, which was attached to an umbrella… and it was now open, inside the house. Merlin knew he wasn't able to turn any more circles; he was going to be sick if he did that again. He sank onto his bed, trying to think of something else to get rid of the bad luck. There weren't any clovers in the city; he had no horseshoes, no rabbit's foot. The only thing he could think of was that he was going to wear his clothes inside out today. He may look like a complete fool, but he wasn't planning on going out anyway.  
Merlin let himself fall back on the sheet-less bed and wanted to cry as he heard the mirror slide down the wall and break on the floor. He didn't even want to get up and clean the shards of broken glass away. Nor was it a good idea to go to the kitchen and start breaking the tableware. He just wanted to go to sleep and kill Arthur the minute he came back from work.

* * *

Arthur opened the front door with a smirk and stepped over the black cat, which looked up at him questioningly. He couldn't wait to find out what Merlin had been up to today, even though he could guess.

The kitchen was empty, but the salt was still on the floor; and the pillow and the sheets were in a pile next to the door. Arthur checked the living room, but Merlin wasn't there either. Next he walked over to his flatmate's room, the cat following him. The door was closed and Arthur opened it quietly.

Merlin was lying on his bed and still his pyjama's, fast asleep. Arthur sniggered at the notion that Merlin was wearing his pyjamas inside out.

And that's when the cat decided to suddenly attack his leg.

"OWWW!" Arthur screamed, waking Merlin.

As he was trying to shake the cat off, Arthur fell backwards and rolled into Merlin's room. Luckily he avoided rolling into the broken mirror, but hit his head on the cabinet. To make things even worse, a pile of books lying on top of the cabinet, fell off and hit Arthur on the back of his head.

The cat was startled, jumped on Arthur's back and embedded his claws into his sweater and skin. Merlin could help but laugh at it, but Arthur was too busy to notice, trying to get the cat off.

"So, how's today going for you, Arthur?" Merlin sniggered.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Actually, this was going to be my last chapter... But no! :D Thanks to all you guys, I have written 6 chapters more!  
Sorry, I can't recall who gave me the pranks for this chapter, but I think you can recognize your own idea... Thank you! Thank you!  
If you don't find your idea here, I think you will in one of the next chapters... :)  
**

**

* * *

Day 14 – Fourteenth of April**

_Arthur turned around and was now facing the biggest monster he had ever seen... It was big, blue and… blobby. Like a big blue blob monster! It looked like it had escaped from Dragon Warrior Monsters, but its size multiplied by fifteen. And by the looks of it, it was ready to attack._

_Arthur took his sword (which was a bit useless when you are fighting something that exists from a substance that would just spring back if you stabbed it…) and stood ready to defend himself against anything that might come his way. The monster screeched, a horrible noise, like a huge cat was mewing in his right ear, even though it looked nothing like a cat._

_"Do not harm me! I am Prince Arthur, future King of Camelot!", Arthur said, rolling out of the way as the blob monster hopped towards him and missed. "I will not succumb to your blue powers!"  
The slime raised his eyebrow, even though he didn't have one._

_"Yeah… whatever…" it said and rolled over to Arthur, who just jumped out of the way again._

_"You will never catch me! Ha ha ha!", Arthur said heroically and attacked the blob from behind. His sword sliced through the gooey substance easily, but it melted together just as easily again. This wasn't helping a bit, it was just getting his hands and arms covered with the blue slime. It was sticky, and smelt._

_A lot._

_The monster turned, puffing himself up and increasing his height, towering over Arthur. The prince dropped his sword as he felt the shadow being cast over him, the temperature dropping drastically, making him shiver. He realised too late that the Blob was leaning more and more forward, tipping itself over to squash his opponent. Arthur had no time to jump out op the way this time, although he tried, and felt the cold, blue, wet goo surround his body…_

_

* * *

_

While screaming the lungs out of his chest, Arthur woke up. Sort of, because he couldn't figure out why he was still feeling so cold and wet (he was awake now, right?), and why there was water streaming down his face. He felt his own teeth shatter inside his mouth and brushed a hand through his hair to get himself together again.

His hair… was wet. So was the t-shirt he was sleeping in. And the sheets on his bed. And his pillow. Actually, he couldn't find a thing nearby that wasn't dry! What in the world happened? It had been a dream! Arthur was sure of it; not a chance that he would go around flashing swords and killing big monsters, pretending to be the King of Camelot, now would he? Ha! The thought of it!

Beside all of the wetness he felt, he also noticed something tugging his little toe. But without light, Arthur couldn't quite figure out what it was. So he turned on the lamp that was standing on his nightstand, which happily didn't lit up with fire due to a short circuit. When his eyes were adjusted to the light, he saw that there was a piece of rope attached to his toe. He untied it, followed the string up in the air and noticed that it lead up to the bookshelf above his head. There were books about cars, castles and soccer, but there was also a bucket… Why was there a bucket? And why was the string attached to it? It was lying on its side and Arthur felt droplets of water drip on his forehead, coming out of the bucket.

He knew this was Merlin's work. The boy must have snuck into his room, placed the bucket over his head, attached the string to his foot and was just waiting for Arthur to wake up, so he could laugh until his stomach hurt.

Arthur growled, but was secretly happy that the bucket didn't drop on his head as well. He was just going to change into a dry shirt, clean his sheets and go back to bed. He definitely wasn't going to tell Merlin about it; the boy would be too happy for Arthur's taste…

Not. Going. To. Happen.

Arthur growled again as he got up from his bed, tearing the wet sheets from his body as they were sticking to him. Still groggy from his sleep, he stumbled over to his closet and undressed himself, climbing out of the wet clothes. He got the biggest scare when he opened the door…

His closet was empty. No trousers, no shirts, no socks, no underwear… no nothing! No, wait, there was one piece of clothing. In the dim light, Arthur couldn't make out what it was, but took it anyway. When it unfolded itself due to the gravity, only held by the shoulders…

Oh…

My…

"MERLIN!" Arthur shouted.

There were some stumbling sounds from the other room and Arthur's door opened.

"What?"

Arthur tried to speak, but was lost for words.

"Wha-… Bu-… You…"

"Oh, yeah, your clothes needed some cleaning, so I took them all to the cleaners", Merlin said dryly and turned to walk back to his bedroom. Of course he noticed Arthur was soaked, and he was definitely going to have a laugh in his own room! But in the middle of exiting, he turned again.

"The only thing I could find that wasn't in need of cleaning, was that", he spoke and pointed at the big t-shirt Arthur was holding. Then, he ran back to his room and locked the door behind him.

"This isn't mine", Arthur mumbled, staring at the hideously ugly blue t-shirt in his hands. He couldn't own such a repulsing thing as this! In disgust he dropped it onto the floor and desperately started looking for something to wipe his hands on.  
_  
No way_ was he going to wear this shirt… even if it meant he had to walk the streets naked… He wasn't going to wear a soccer-shirt from 'the Gargoyles'. It probably was the worst team ever, in Arthur's opinion. And it was like writing your own death sentence! Besides… Arthur was a die-hard 'Dragons' fan…

"MERLIN!"

"What?", Merlin stuck his head through the door again.

"This isn't mine!" Arthur said and pointed to the floor.

"It must be, I found it in your closet!"

"That's impossible…", Arthur growled and kicked the shirt towards Merlin. "It is definitely not mine…"

"It is!"

"It is not!"

"It is!"

"T'is not!"

"Is!"

"T'is not!"

"It iiii-hiiis!" Merlin whined.

"So what am I going to wear tomorrow? To work? Hmm?"

"Well… you can pick your clothes up at… errrm… two pm. But you have to do it yourself, I have to go to work all day", Merlin smiled and ran back to his room for the second time, afraid of "Arthur's Wrath"

Arthur was able to bang his head against the wall. He had two options… One; go to work naked (he was sure the girls wouldn't mind. However, his boss wouldn't be so happy) and two; borrow some of Merlin's clothes… Ewwwwwww! The thought made him cringe…

He hated blue.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Day 15 – The Fifteenth of April**

"Truth or dare"

"Dare… definitely dare…"

"Wimp"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are Arthur! Afraid you have to tell me something! Anything! Like you have never kissed a girl before!"

"I am not! And to let you know, I have kissed a girl!"

"Who is it then?"

"What?"

"Who did you kiss?"

"Erm… Err…"

"I knew it…"

"Knew what?!"

"You never kissed a girl!"

"I have! I am not going to tell you my personal life, that's all."

"Riiiiight…"

"I am the prince of Camelot. I can kiss who I like! Like… like… This girl! I can kiss her if I want to!"

"You can kiss me any time you like, handsome…"

"You see, Merlin!"

"Where did she come from... But you have never kissed anyone!"

"I didn't say that!"

"So! Tell me! Who was it!"

"…"

"Come oooon!"

"No, I chose Dare, not Truth… You just have to come up with something for me to do!"

"I dare you to tell me who you kissed!"

"That is not fair."

"Prat."

"Excuse me?"

"Alright, alright… I dare you to… hang on."

"Merlin, what _are _ you doing?"

"No, hang on for a second while I am searching for something… Ah! Here it is!"

"You gotta be kidding me…"

"Nope"

"Get that grin of your face."

"Nope."

"I am not wearing that…"

"You made me wear it! At that party of Belatane! You wanted me to be your servant!"

"That was completely different."

"No, it wasn't."

"It totally was! I am _not _going to wear it!"

"Okay, I win."

"What?"

"I win! You don't want to do it, hence I win!"

"…"

"What?"

"Gimme that… I will look like a complete fool."

"Kind of. I dare you to keep it on for a full day."

"WHAT?! YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"

"But still I am."

"No. Way."

"Yes way!"

"Aaaargh… Fine…

"Goodie!"

"Merlin?"

"Just promise you won't make a picture…"

"… Great idea!"

"Ohhhh…"

Arthur had never felt more ashamed when he left the house, wearing a red hat, green and red feathers sticking out of the top.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Day 16 – The Sixteenth of April**

"Merlin! There's an envelope for you!", Arthur yelled from the hallway and walked into the living room, flicking through a stack of paper. Mostly, they were bills, but one of the envelopes was red and covered with just too many hearts. Merlin, who was sitting on the couch and was watching a boring show about infamous singers, jumped up and curiously picked the letter out of Arthur's hands.

"And it's not even Valentines' Day", he said as he turned it around in his fingers.

"You don't even get cards on Valentines' Day!", Arthur joked and got poked in the arm.

"Oi! Watch it! I got loads of cards this year!"

"From who? You don't know any girls!"

"Hmmrzzz...", Merlin mumbled. "They seem to know me!?", he shot back with a grin and decided he wanted some privacy for this. Arthur was already hanging over his shoulder, trying to see what was written in the letter, but Merlin thoughtfully sprinted over to the bathroom and locked himself in. He sat down on the closed toilet seat and picked at the edges of the paper to open the envelope.

A sweet and nauseating smell emerged as he pulled the letter out of the red envelope. The paper itself was pink, covered with drawn flowers, a beautiful (and unreadable) handwriting and hearts and it was soaking wet with a strawberry perfume. Merlin reminded himself to wash his hands before he went back into the living room; Arthur was going to laugh himself to death if he noticed!

"_My dearest Merlin", _it began.

"_Your scarves are red,  
_ _your shirts are blue.  
_ _There is nothing in the world,  
_ _I wouldn't do for you"  
_

A poem?

"_Your eyes are blue,  
_ _your hair is black;  
_ _after one of your kisses,  
_ _I am a complete wreck."_

A 'love' poem? Even though it was a very, very, very bad one, Merlin kept on reading.

"_With this poem, I want to declare my love to you…"_ Oh, really?

The more and more Merlin read, the less and less he could believe his eyes. The valentines' card and letters he had gotten this year were a bit strange and obsessive some times… but this one really was… _slightly_ over the top (to say it mildly). Every 'i' and 'j' was dotted with a heart, every line ended with a flower and - to make things even worse - underneath all of the words, there was a little drawing. Merlin swallowed; it was a portrait of himself, albeit a very cute one. His eyes were twice the normal size, his black hair even fuzzier than normal and his cheekbones and ear sticking out more than Merlin wanted them to.

_"You're my teddy, my love, the one who makes my heart beat faster.  
With lots of love and kisses, truly yours…"_

His eyes grew wide with shock as he read the name.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGH!!!!!" a terrifying cry came out of the bathroom. Arthur was lying on the couch, watching a soccer game sideways, and he gave a little smile and sat up as Merlin threw the bathroom door open. With the reeking piece of paper still in his hands, he stormed into the living room and came to a halt next to the TV.

"And?", Arthur asked.

"And what…"

"Who's it from?"

"Mrs Jones."

"Our downstairs neighbour?"

"Yes."

"Aww, how nice!"

"SHE IS 82!", Merlin shrieked, flapping his arms up and down.

"Ah, now Merlin, that is a rude thing to say…"

"It said she loves to watch me put the trash out!", Merlin said while pointed at the pink letter.

"Oh, well-…"

"And when I leave for work!"

"Hm, you should-…"

"I should talk to her", Merlin ran out of the apartment before Arthur could even reply (and tell him that that wasn't such a good idea.)

* * *

Only a few minutes later, Merlin came running back in, his face covered with a mix of fear and shame; coloured red and white at the same time.

"I am never able to go down again", he mumbled, shuffled over to the couch and sat down next to Arthur. "I am never going to survive this… I will never forget…"

"She will? Eventually?", Arthur tried grinning, but Merlin shook his head.

"No… she laughed… she laughed so hard… I thought I…", his bottom lip started to tremble. "She winked at me… she… _winked… _at me… And it's not even her letter…" Not soon thereafter, Arthur was shaking with laughter. Merlin shook his head in disbelieve, look at the piece of paper and looked at Arthur, who was holding his stomach, trying not to roll off the couch. Merlin's eyes flicked from the letter to Arthur, back to the letter and once to Arthur again.

"This was you, wasn't it?" he asked and because Arthur couldn't speak, the boy nodded his head and fell off the couch laughing. "You wrote this?" Merlin said with a raised voice. "You wrote… _this?! _This…", the flapped the paper up an down, spreading the nauseating smell of strawberries, "…piece of… poetry?"

Arthur's head shot up… Nooo… Merlin was sure not going there!

"You write poetry?", Merlin asked teasingly and recited: "_Your scarves are red; your shirts are blue-…_"

Arthur tore the letter out of Merlin's hand, crumbled it up into a ball and threw it out of the open window. So, gone and forgotten, Arthur thought and grinned at Merlin.

_"…There is nothing in the world, I wouldn't do for you_", Merlin continued. "Awww, Arthur, is that how you think about me? Really? That's so nice!"

Arthur pouted. Great… He was going to listen to this for the rest of his life.

"And the perfume? Where did you get that from? Do actually own this perfume, or am I wrong?"

"You're wrong…"

"And the handwriting! You really had me believe it came from a girl!"

"Shut it, Merlin."

"A_fter one of your kisses, I am a complete wreck. _That must be the nicest thing someone has ever said to me!" Merlin chuckled while Arthur sank deeper and deeper into the couch, his face turning red.

"Merlin…", Arthur mumbled.

"Yes? Arthur?"

"Never mention this to anyone."

"Errhm… No."

"Excuse me?"

"No!"

"Ahum?" Arthur coughed.

"This is way to hilarious to keep for myself!", Merlin exclaimed happily. "I would happily give my life for spreading this priceless piece of poetry! Even if it means war…"

"Fine! This is officially a war then!"

"Fine! As you wish!" Merlin crossed his arms over his chest. "You, big girl!"

"I am _not_ a girl…"

"Yes, you are! Look at the handwriting! Handwritings never lie!"

Arthur couldn't come up with a counterargument for that, and decided to change the subject.

"Well! Well! You believed it!", he scoffed, poking Merlin playfully in the arm.

"Ha! Hahahaha! Got you there! I made you believe I believed it, while I believed that you believed that I believed it! But I never believed it! Ha! Mrs. Jones… Having a crush on me. Biggest joke ever!"

"She did wink at you, didn't she?", Arthur asked hopefully. Merlin's jaw dropped and he hid his face in his hands. Arthur sniggered into his fist.

"Oh no…", Merlin groaned. "An eighty-two year old has a crush on me…"


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Day 17 – The Seventeenth of April**

"Merlin? What's this?" Arthur pointed at his head.

"It's a pillow", Merlin said smugly.

"I figured that out myself. But what is it doing there?"

"Maybe it's sleeping?"

"How can it be sleeping?"

"Well, if you go to sleep, you put your face on a pillow. Maybe, when a pillow goes to sleep, he puts himself on your face!"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, Merlin."

"Thank you!"

"Now take it off."

"What do you mean?"

"Get the pillow off my head! I have to be at work in a few, well, minutes actually. So take it off..."

"I cannot."

"Excuse me?"

"It's stuck."

"Oh really?", Arthur pulled at the pillow and his cheek moved along, giving him a very funny face, which made Merlin snigger.

"Yeah, really… That happens when you put super-glue on it…"

"Oh!", Arthur replied like he didn't know already. "And the super-glue jar accidentally fell on top of my pillow, didn't it? I always keep a jar of super-glue next to my bed… Handy for when MY PILLOW WANTS TO GO TO SLEEP!" he shouted. Merlin just sniggered.

"By the looks of it, it is really, really sleepy."

"MERLIN! TAKE IT OFF! NOW!"

"I can't! I really can't! Read the jar!"

Arthur turned around and went in search of a pair of scissors to cut most of the pillow off his head, so he could go (kind of) presentably to his work. And he was having a date this evening… great!

But now he was late anyway, he could take some more time to get Merlin back for this…

* * *

Now Arthur had left for work, Merlin had the apartment for himself and in a minute, he was going out to do some groceries. They still needed some more peanut butter and also some chicken for tomorrow's dinner. The perfect reason to travel half an hour to the most expensive supermarket in the city to buy it (and ask that wonderful girl out on a date (if he could find the courage to do so)!) Anyway, an expensive supermarket (and of course the girl) called for fancy clothes! So Merlin walked to his closet, opened it and tried to find something nice to wear.

A few minutes later he was wearing his best shirt, his nicest pair of trousers and of course polished shoes. There was completely nothing he could do about his hair – it seemed to have a will of its own some days – but it didn't look that bad. Last thing he needed, was a nice neckerchief to wrap around his neck. But where were they? They weren't lying on their normal place in the closet (crisply fold, stacked neatly and sorted by colour, like he only did for his scarves), but he was sure he still hadn't taken the last one off the pile yesterday.

There were none lying under his bed, none in the laundry basket, none in the kitchen (used by Arthur as a cleaning cloth, the rare times he cleaned at all). Nor where there any hanging from the hatstand in the hallway or in the living room, hidden beneath the cushions of the couch.

Merlin started to shake and tremble… His scarves… his precious scarves! Where were they? What happened to them? Arthur didn't… get rid of them, did he? Merlin was never going to survive with out his scarves! Life would be useless! He… he…needed to sit down for a moment…

Slowly breathing in and out again, Merlin tried to overcome the nauseous feeling he had in his stomach. He softly rocked back and forwards, hugging himself tightly… What was he going to do?

He stared at the black screen of the television. Even though the machine was off, Merlin could still see colours moving around. Partly his own reflection, but also something else outside of the window…

Outside… of the window…

Merlin jumped up, ran to the window and stared at the scene outside in shock. All of his scarves, about twenty, were tied to a string and suspended high above the street. It was like a garland. The wind was gently making them waving the coloured scarves go up and down, but one them, that wasn't tied properly enough, suddenly let go and fell towards the ground, four storeys down.

"NOOOOOO!!!! MY SCARF!!!!"

People looked up, wondering what was going on. The scarf fell and fell, into a puddle of muddy water. A dog wandered up to where it was lying, sniffed the piece of cloth and took it up in his mouth. He happily walked away with it. Tears rolled down Merlin's cheeks… not his most beautiful scarf…! Arthur was going to pay for this! While Merlin was desperately trying to get his scarves inside again without harming any of the others, he was trying to find a way to get back at Arthur for this…

* * *

"Merlin, have you seen my shoes?"

"Aren't they were they are supposed to be?"

"They aren't… that's why I am asking!"

"Oh, right… then no, I have not seen your shoes."

Arthur lifted a stack of morning papers to see if his shoes had been hiding underneath. When he stood up again, he scratched his head in wonder. He was sure he had another pair somewhere? So where were they? Not underneath the kitchen table, next to the TV or in his bedroom.

"Arrrghhh. I have to be leaving in a couple of minutes!", he cried out as he took a look at the clock. "Can't I borrow your shoes?"

"No, my feet are way smaller than yours."

"Darn."

"Have you checked your closet already?", Merlin asked as he was trying to hid his face behind the magazine he was reading, when he suddenly realised he had to be going himself (although he had no idea where. He just needed to get out of here!). He ran to the hallway, jumped into his shoes, pulled on his coat and pulled the door closed behind him, without saying goodbye (or good luck for that matter) to Arthur.

When Arthur came back into the living room, ready to shout at Merlin, his arm holding something pointy and pink, he was disappointed to find Merlin gone. Aww, and when he just really felt like shouting at Merlin! But shouting didn't really have a point when there was nobody to shout at. Anyhow, he was still standing in the doorpost, holding up something pink and glossy. The only thing Arthur could (and would) ask himself, was how in the world Merlin was able to get these. He didn't dare ask himself what shoes he was going to wear to his date tonight, but it definitely wouldn't be these!

A pair of pink, 5 inch high heels, so ugly you wanted to close your eyes and wish you weren't in the same room as those despicable things!  
What was his date going to think if he entered the restaurant wearing these?! And it was too late to go out to the shops and buy something else. As long as Arthur had Merlin as his room mate, he was bound to live a very single and lonely life…

* * *

"Hi, how are you doing", Arthur asked politely after he entered the restaurant and found the right table. The girl was already seated and was sipping a glass of water.

"I'm fine, thanks", she said shyly and grinned at him. _Those teeth,_ she thought as Arthur grinned back. "And…and you?"  
_  
Don't mention it… Don't mention it…, _Arthur's mind was shouting at him. He pulled back the chair and sat down, relieved. _Don't tell her about your freaky room mate and his obsession with shoes! She will walk out on you!_ He smiled painfully and her face fell.

"Are you okay?", she asked, laying her hand on his arm.

"Oh, yeah! Great!", he gritted his teeth. _Don't show her the shoes…  
_  
"Are you sure? You look like you're in pain!"  
_  
Who wouldn't be with these shoes… Poor girls!  
_  
"Mwah… It's not that bad when I sit", Arthur admitted and smiled at her again. "Do you want another drink?"

"Errm", she peeked at her glass, which was almost empty. "Yes, please. I'd love a glass of cola."

Arthur waited for a waiter to pass by, so he could ask for two cola. Curious: or there weren't any waiters, and if there were, they were already very busy doing other things.  
Like they were completely avoiding him.

"Okay", he said after fifteen minutes of trying to get attention. "I am going to ask the manager, this is outrageous!" He got out of his chair and started walking towards the entrance, where a man dressed in a sharp suit was welcoming the guests and showing them places where they could sit. But not two steps away from the table, the girl started to snigger.

"What on earth are you wearing!", she whispered loudly at him, pointing at his feet. With his back still turned to her, Arthur closed his eyes and hoped people weren't staring at him. Even more laughs and chuckles told him there _were_ staring. His face turned red and he shuffled back to his table, quickly hiding the shoes he was wearing.

"Okay, don't laugh and pleaaaase believe me. It was my room mate!", Arthur mumbled. "He stole all of my shoes and replaced them with… these", he pointed at his feet.

"He replaced your shoes with pink high heels, with the heels broken off?"

"Not exactly, I broke off the heels. Couldn't walk if I didn't."

The girl bit her lip, trying to remain calm and to not burst out in laughing in a fancy restaurant.

"It was this or…", Arthur lowered his face in to a silent whisper. "Flip-flops."

"High heels… Definitely high heels", the girl added. "You made the right choice. Just one question…"

"Yeah?"

"How were you able to walk on those? Did you walk all the way to the restaurant?"

"Yeah, on my toes…"

"You walked over here… on your toes?"

"They hurt like… well… Let's say I am really planning to kill my roommate for this one!"

"I totally understand… I will even be your accomplice if you need me to."

"Thanks", Arthur grinned evilly at her and wiggled his eyebrows. "Actually… I have another plan…"

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Ha ha! See you tomorrow.. : )**


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Day 18 – The Eighteenth of April**

"So, how was your date?"

"I think I am in love, Merlin", Arthur stared up at the ceiling, dreamingly. Merlin choked on his mug of chocolate milk and started coughing.

"No, really!", Arthur poked Merlin in the shoulder. "She is great and funny and pretty and… well, she's just everything!"

"She… she didn't…"

"Oh no! Not at all! She said she likes a man who shows his feminine side. And she thought it was funny, we talked all evening!"

"She really didn't…"

"She even kissed me, Merlin."

"She what?!

"Kissed me! You thought you ruined my date, didn't you?"

"Well, I hoped I did… Oh well… better next time…"

"What next time?" Arthur's eyes grew.

"Dunno…" Merlin shrugged. "You'll see. Anyway, I need to get dressed!" he jumped off his chair and walked out of the kitchen to his own room. Arthur rested his head upon his hand, leaning against the table and just waited for the fun to begin.

* * *

Merlin took off his pyjama top and opened the door of his closet to pull out a blue shirt. He had just barely overcome the shock of all his scarves being gone, but when he opened the closet, he almost fainted.

Where were all the blues? The reds? Brown? WHERE WERE ALL THE COLOURS?!?!?!

Merlin had to close his eyes to save himself from going mad from all the pinkness. Everything was too freaking bright! Every, really every piece of clothing in his closet was pink and Merlin started pulling it out in search of something not-pink(ish). After a while, a stack of pink clothes started to pile up behind his back as his closet got emptier and emptier.

In the end, the shelves were completely empty and his room was filled with pink clothing just everywhere.

Maybe it was a good thing Merlin had hidden his own scarves behind his books in the bookcase and Arthur wasn't able to find them and dye them pink, like he did with the rest of Merlin's clothes. Although the boy had no idea how Arthur had managed to do it in only one night (maybe he had an accomplice?) and how he was able to get everything this bright, Merlin smirked. A plan formed in his mind…

* * *

"Are you ready to go yet?", Arthur asked as he knocked on Merlin's door. "We need to be going, or else I will be late."

"You're always late for your soccer games", Merlin replied through the door. "I don't think your team members would think differently of you if you do so again…"

"_Mer_lin!" Arthur shook his head and walked away. He was going to wait by the door.

* * *

Merlin peeked through the door before he opened it completely and ran to the hallway, where he quickly slid into his coat. Arthur was facing the door, leaning against the wall for Merlin to be ready to leave.

"Okay, let's go", Merlin said and ran through the door, down the stairs and quickly hopped into the car. Arthur followed slowly, sniggering about the fact that Merlin was actually wearing pink trousers. Such a shame that he was wearing his normal coloured coat, though. Arthur had forgotten about that. However, this was priceless!

* * *

Arthur was running up and down the field, trying to get the ball into the goal of the other team. That part of the game wasn't so bad.

What _was_ bad, was the fact that Merlin was sitting at the side of the field… In pink, wearing the stupid hat with the feathers again and cheering loudly every time Arthur made some sort of mistake. Any kind of mistake; loosing the ball, missing the goal, tackling an opponent the wrong way… Merlin would jump up, arms up in the air and yell his lungs out of his body.

"GOOOO ARTHUR!!!! GOOOOOO ARTHUUUUUUR! YAAY ARTHUR!!!" Every time he did so, Arthur's face would turn as red as the shirt he was wearing and he could hear sniggering all around. What did he do to himself?

In the end, they lost he game with seven to nothing.

* * *

"So, how did it go?", Merlin asked as Arthur was sulking off the field. "Did you win?"

"You really don't know a thing about soccer, do you?" Arthur snapped and kept on walking towards the dressing rooms.

"Well… a couple of people running after a ball… Wow, do you mean there is more to it?!"

"It does not evolve jumping up and scream like a mad man…"

"Screaming like a mad man? I didn't hear anybody scream like a mad man?", Merlin looked around to see if he could spot the man they were discussing, although he knew perfectly well who it was. Arthur shook his head and disappeared into the changing room, where all his team mates were already rolling over the floor, laughing hard.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Day 19 – The Nineteenth of April**

"Okay, I am going out to get some groceries", Merlin said as he took the keys of the front door and put them in his pocket.

"No", Arthur replied. "You are going out to see that girl in the supermarket again!"

Merlin blushed.

"Maybe that too…Oh, and new clothes."

"Good idea… I don't want you to wear any more of my clothes any longer!"

"Prat!"

"I am paying it back, am I not? I am paying for a complete new wardrobe, am I not?"

"Yeah…you are. Thanks…", Merlin had to agree on that. "Anyway, see you later!"

"Bye Merlin. Have _fun,_ Merlin!" Arthur chirped.

_

* * *

Girl first,_ Merlin thought as he closed the door behind him, which fell into the lock. He was actually getting somewhere with the girl… he almost found enough bravery to ask her out; nothing fancy just yet, only a cup of coffee or something. But every time he was standing in the supermarket, peeking through a stack of canned beans looking at her while she was refilling a shelve with breadcrumbs, he closed up.

Unable to speak, unable to move and it had gotten worse and worse every time he noticed her. It was quite annoying, actually, but he couldn't stop it. And it wasn't like he was stalking her, or anything! He really wanted to ask her out, he really, really, really wanted to!

He just couldn't do it.

One time he had been standing in the same aisle a whole afternoon and the personnel had to drag him out of the supermarket so they could close up. It was quite embarrassing.

But this time, he knew he was able to do it. Every man who can make Arthur blush, is also capable in asking a girl out! And with that thought in mind, he stepped through the opening doors of the supermarket. He shuffled through the different aisles, loading things he needed into the basket he was carrying, eagerly awaiting the moment he would see her again.

_"Hi"  
_

_"Hi"  
_

_"I'm Merlin"  
_

_"Gemma" _(He had already found out about that! Hail nametags!)_  
_

_"Do you want to have a cup of coffee with me sometimes?"  
_

_"Yeah, sure!"  
_

He had played the scene over and over again in his mind, always ending it in the black-haired girl dropping the things she was holding and throwing her arms around Merlin's neck and kissing him. Shamefully, it had never happed.

In aisle seven, he walked into her. Just a moment to late he jumped back to hide behind the big stack of piled up instant mashed potatoes. But she had already noticed him.  
Merlin peeked around the packets of instant and saw her looking at him, raising her hand and greeting him shyly. He took a deep breath, straightened the jacket he was wearing and stepped over to her.

"Hi"

"What happened to your face?!", she asked immediately and raised he eyebrow. She placed a packet of coffee onto the shelf.

_Errrr?  
_

"What do you mean?", Merlin asked.

"Well…It's kind of… blue…", she took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Merlin. He checked himself as he looked into the reflecting back of the phone, so it acted like a mirror. "And red…"

"And yellow and pink…", Merlin added, handing Gemma back her phone. "Yeah… it happens now and then…"

"You're an artist?"

Merlin thought about all the pranks he had pulled on Arthur… It could be called art, right?

"Yeah, sort of!"

"Wow…", she said as she placed another packet of coffee onto the shelf. "I also draw and paint, although not as abstract as… errr…"

"My face?", Merlin sniggered.

"Yeah", Gemma smiled.

_NOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOWNOW!!! DO IT!!!  
_

"Hey, uhm..", Merlin began and coughed to clear his throat. "Do you want to go have a… drink a… cup of coffee? Later? With me? When you're finished working?"_ Please… please… please…_ Merlin crossed his fingers behind his back.

"Yeah, sure!", Gemma replied, although she didn't jump up, threw her arms around his neck and snogged him senseless. Maybe later…

* * *

"HOW DO YOU LIKE _THEM_ APPLES!!!"

"Merlin, please don't recite Battlefield: Bad Company…"

"BOOM HEADSHOT!"

"Or any other videogame, please…"

"Only if you admit it."

"Admit what?"

"That I have a date this evening?"

"Okay… okay… You have a date this evening…"

"WHOOOOOO!!!!"

"Stop that!"

"WHOOOOOO!!!!"

"_Mer_lin!"

"What?"

"I know you are happy you actually found a girl-…"

"How's your girl? Did she ring back?"

"… Lemme finish my sentence… I know you are happy you actually found a-…"

"Did she call you back?"

"Merlin!"

"Did she?"

"No! Now let me finish!"

"She didn't call you back? Awww… HOW DO YOU LIKE _THEM_ APPLES!!!"

"Haha."

"You better wash that of your face if you're going to meet her tonight…"

"Good one…", Merlin ran to the bathroom and started to scrub his face. "Arthur? It won't come off…"

"I know! Isn't it great?!"


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Day 20 – The Twentieth of April**

Frankenstein, the cat, jumped on top of Arthur bed and started mewing loudly into Arthur's ear. He pushed the cat of the bed, but the animal just jumped on it again and started to push his nose into Arthur's neck.

"Franky, stop it, would you… I will feed you later", the cat didn't seem to understand and kept on mewing.

After a full five minutes, Arthur had enough of it and got up out of bed. While rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he shuffled towards the kitchen and went to search for the cat food.

He realised he had no idea where the cat food was stored; Merlin always fed the cat. And the cat always went to Merlin to be fed! So what was it doing waking Arthur? Something fishy was going on…

Arthur let the cat be and checked Merlin's room. The boy had gone out last night to have a drink with Gemma, who he met in the supermarket. But Arthur couldn't recall the moment Merlin came back home… It must have been late, then. Arthur opened the door to Merlin's room, expecting it to be a big mess and that Merlin was still lying in his bed, out cold. Maybe even next to the bed, tangled in his sheets. Maybe even _with _the girl.

He didn't expect the bed to be empty, sheets untouched and Merlin nowhere to be seen! That wasn't something Merlin would do…? He always rang or texted Arthur if he was going to be a bit later than usual… Merlin wasn't even late this time!

Arthur tried his cell phone.

"_Yeh'ello__"  
_  
"Merlin! Where-…"

"_This is Merlin's cell and for some reason, it isn't on…"_

_"Maybe because your battery is low. It always is…", _Arthur heard himself say in the background…

"_Anyway…", _Merlin continued. "_This is the voicemail…"  
_  
Arthur closed his phone and slid it back into his pocket. Merlin's phone was off, probably due to low batteries, so no way in finding him that way. Where was the boy?  
Arthur tried to think back to last night; trying to see if he could remember if Merlin had said where he was going. Maybe he could ring the bar/restaurant/coffee shop they went to and ask if the two _even_ arrived!

Arthur swallowed away the lump in his throat: what if something happened? What if they had _never _arrived? What if Merlin had been mugged? Beaten up and left in the alley to suffer the pain, alone? And what about Gemma? Had she been waiting for him in the bar/restaurant/coffee shop, hating the boy for the rest of her life, or had she been with him while he was being mugged?

His breathing got faster, his heart was beating up in his throat; the horrible feeling that he was to late to help Merlin._ Stop it,_ _Arthur! _he said to himself. _You can't be sure anything has happened to him!_ He shook his shoulders, ridding himself of the worries and went in search of the phone book.

* * *

_"Derek's bar; the best beer and apple pie in the world. Derek speaking."  
_  
"Yeah, erm… Hi, my name is Arthur Pendragon…"  
_  
"How can I help you?"_

"Well, this is kind of a weird question, but do remember two customers from last night?"

_"..."_

"What?"  
_  
"It helps if you describe the persons you are looking for."_

"Oh, right. Sorry! One is male, black, no wait, blond hair, goofy ears, probably wearing a red scarf."  
_  
"Yeah! Yeah, I remember him!" _The man on the other side of the phone sniggered. _"Can't forget those ears… Quite a catch, the girl he brought."_

Arthur growled.

"So they were both there?"

"_Yeah! Drank quite a lot too."  
_  
"And how late did they leave?"  
_  
"Can I just ask you why you want to know this? Are you the girl's boyfriend, or something?"  
_  
"No, sir. The one with the ears is my roommate and he didn't came home last night."

Some more sniggering.  
_  
"The moment he stepped in with that girl at his side, I knew it! I just knew it!"  
_  
"Sir…"  
_  
"Derek."_

"Derek, can you tell me, please, how late they left! I need to know!"  
_  
"Around 11 pm… if my memory is still with me…"  
_  
"And in what state?"  
_  
"Not drunk, if that's what you mean?"_

"But you said they drank a lot!"  
_  
"We do serve more that just beer, mister Pendragon."  
_  
"Right. Well, thanks anyway."  
_  
"Good luck in finding them."  
_  
"Thank you."  
_  
"Bye sir."  
_  
Arthur closed his phone and almost thrown it against the wall. This hadn't helped him much. At least he now knew that Merlin had arrived at the bar, together with Gemma and nothing had happened to him before that. Something must have happened after they had left the bar; Merlin might have gone with Gemma and just forgotten to let Arthur know. Arthur couldn't check that out, he had no idea where Gemma lived or what her phone number was.

The only thing he could do now was wait; it was a bit to early to call the police…

* * *

_"So, what would you like to drink?", Merlin asked as they sat down at a table. It was quite cosy; a candle was lit, a small red rose in a vase was placed on the table (next to the pepper and saltcellars…) and a pretty tune drifted through the air._

_"I would like a tea!", Gemma smiled as Merlin pushed forward the chair she was sitting in. "Ohhh, quite the gentleman!"_

_Merlin chuckled and went to ask for two teas, a huge smile on his face. He was so happy and it was going so well!_

_When he returned with two teas and two pieces of apple pie, the smile dropped. The happy feeling got replaced by anger, sadness and shame. There was another guy sitting at the table, his arm wrapped around Gemma. There now was a dilemma: should he go back to the table, enter the conversation and act like nothing was going on? Go back to the table, politely ask what was going on and see what was going to happen from there? Go back to the table, punch the guy in the face and shout that he had his arm wrapped around his girlfriend? Or flee the bar altogether, ignore the phone calls Gemma would make and never return to the supermarket ever again?_

_He choose to 'politely ask' one…_

_"Excuse me?", Merlin carefully shuffled back to the table, trying to keep the tea in the cups instead of over his arms and the floor. "Erm…"_

_He felt his face go red. He should have chosen the 'flee' option!_

_"Ah! Merlin!", the guy with blond curls said, sticking out his free arm at Merlin to shake one's hand. Merlin wouldn't even have shaken his hand if his weren't filled with tea and apple pie. "Nice to finally meet you!"_

_Gemma kissed the man on the cheek._

_"Merlin, this is Chris. My boyfriend!"_

_The last word repeated itself in Merlin's head. _Boyfriend… boyfriend… boyfriend… _The couple must have noticed that his face ashened, his bottom lip started to tremble and that he was about to drop everything he was carrying, for they looked at him quite worryingly. _

_Merlin wished; the couple didn't have their eyes on him. They were completely ignoring him as they were kissing each other passionately. He placed the cups down on a nearby table and ran out of the bar, tears streaming down his face.  
_

* * *

Arthur had been pacing up and down the living room all morning, brushing his hair with his hands. Every once in a while, he would pick up the remote control to turn on the TV, before he would throw it back onto the couch and continue his pacing. He had called the police and they told him to wait it out a bit longer; surely Merlin would have gone with the girl. No need to turn the whole city upside down yet to go look for him, but the PC's were told to keep an eye out for Merlin.

Just wait…

Waiting was difficult. Even more when everything you could do seemed so very pointless. So Arthur started doing completely pointless things. Like counting the number of different coloured books in the room, adding those numbers together to get the complete number of books. After counting the number of wooden boards the floor contained, Arthur decided he was thirsty and that he needed some coffee.

The kitchen was as empty as the bedroom, living room and bathroom. No Merlin. Arthur started to boil some water, staring at the fire underneath the kettle. On automatic pilot, he took a mug out of the top cabinet, a spoon from a drawer and coffee ground out of the packet. Where did they keep the filters again? He started pulling open random cabinets.  
He got the biggest scare of his life when he opened the last cabinet, the one next to the refrigerator and Merlin came rolling out.

"MERLIN!", Arthur exclaimed. Merlin sleepily lifted his head and blinked at the harsh light.

"Arthur? Wha-…", breath left his body as Arthur threw his arms around him and hugged him tight.

"I am so glad you are alright!"

"Yeah… me too…", Merlin said as he looked around himself and noticed he was sitting on the kitchen floor. Arthur let go. "What was I doing in the cabinet?"

"Don't ask me! I've been looking for you all morning!"

"I don't remember getting in here."

"What do you remember?"

"Last night… the date with Gemma. She… she… No, no, no, no, no…"

"I heard you left the bar together", Arthur wiggled his eyebrows at Merlin, who was having a silent panic attack.

"Wait. What? We left the bar together?", Merlin blinked; he had a complete different memory of last night.

"Yeah! I rang the bar and Derek told me you left together."

Suddenly it hit Merlin. With a relieved sigh, he fell backwards, leaning against the closed door of the cabinet.

"It was a dream! It was all a stupid dream!"

"What dream?"

"I will explain later. Long story short, she doesn't have a boyfriend!"

"Riiiight. But, please do explain how you ended up in the kitchen cabinet…"

"Yeah uhm… Something is coming back about that…" Merlin turned a bit red. He didn't want to explain it any further to Arthur. In the dream, after he had left the bar, he had felt so  
ashamed that he went straight home and crawled into the shower cubicle, letting the water wash away the pain he was feeling.

However, in real life, he had mistaken the kitchen for the bathroom and the cabinet for the shower.

He really didn't want to explain that to Arthur; it was like having to admit your magic powers to the King of Camelot (which you will have you head chopped off for). So, instead, he smirked evilly.

"Gotcha!"

Arthur's jaw dropped.

"I really had you there, didn't I?", Merlin sniggered.

Arthur shook his head in disbelieve.

"I was worried… I phoned the police… I-…", his voice trembled. He suddenly changed as he punched Merlin in the shoulder and pointed his finger at him accusingly. "This was a joke?! Don't do that to me ever again!"


	21. Chapter Twenty one

**Day 21 – The Twenty-first of April  
**  
"What's that you're chewing on, Frankenstein?"

The cat was sitting under the table, holding something under his paws and gnawing away at it. Suddenly, the cat ran away, ran back and jumped on it, like as if was going to escape. Merlin got off the couch and sat on his knees, reaching for Franky. The cat wasn't fond of the hand trying to take away his diner and attacked it. After a short struggle with the cat, Merlin was holding the mysterious… thing.

Frankenstein crawled upon the couch, next to Merlin and stared at Merlin's hands, who was turning the thing round and round, trying to figure out what it was. It felt slimy, it was green, but with teeth marks all over, it was hard to figure out what it was. Merlin even spotted two eyes, but still didn't know.

"EEEEEeeeeeeewwwwww!", he exclaimed, dropping the thing immediately and running to the kitchen to wash his hands. "Don't eat _that, _Franky!"

The cat ignored him and ran off with the thing between his teeth.

* * *

After a long day of wondering what the green slimy thing was (Franky hadn't returned with it), it was time for bed. When Arthur left the bathroom, he greeted Merlin casually and retreated to his own bedroom. Merlin wondered if Arthur had bought the green slimy thing for the cat to play with; he should ask tomorrow.

He grabbed his toothbrush and rinsed it with water. He took the toothpaste and screwed off the top so he could squirt some paste onto the hairs of his toothpaste. Again he held his brush underneath the streaming water and stuck it into his mouth to clean his teeth.

It tasted a bit strange.  
_  
It wasn't as minty as toothpaste is supposed to be_, Merlin thought as he moved the brush up and down against his teeth. _And the texture is a bit off. It isn't foamy... Perhaps I should check the…  
_  
"DIAPER RASH CREAM?!?!"

Immediately he started to spit out the contents of his mouth and rinsed it with water five times before he ran to Arthur's room and gave the boy a very serious speech about dental cleaning.

* * *

Merlin returned to his own room after Arthur had promised never to mess with the toothpaste again. He smiled when he saw his bed; he already felt the nice blanket wrapped around his shoulders, keeping him warm as he drifted off to sleep. While changing into his PJ's, he was wondering what kind of prank he was going to pull tomorrow. Or should he take a day off? That would really freak Arthur out!

Both of them were aware that every day was a dangerous one. Every day there was the chance of losing all your clothes, the chance of your TV go missing, being glued to your bed... They were always looking out for things that could happen.

It was like walking on broken glass all day; you had to be careful that it didn't enter you shoes and rip your feet apart. Just imagine having that feeling all day long! Waiting for something to happen! Horrible! And perfect at the same time.

Merlin buttoned up his top and flicked off the lights. He tiptoed over to his bed and slid under the sheets.

"Aaaaah", he sighed, closed his eyes and stretched himself out. But his eyes shot open again when he felt something touch his hand. And both of his feet.

It was slimy…

Probably green.

Horrified, Merlin jumped out of bed and turned on the light. In total, there were five slimy, green things in his bed…

Five dead frogs.

In his bed.

And he had touched them.

Ewwwwwwwww….

He wanted revenge.

Now.

* * *

Even though Arthur was fast asleep, his nose twitched.

Merlin waggled the feather again, right underneath Arthur's nose and it twitched again. Arthur moved his head to the right, almost lifted up his hand and scratch away the itch. He didn't, so Merlin softly pressed the feather against his nose again.

All of a sudden, Arthur's hand flicked up to his face and Merlin jumped away.

_Splash! _

"Arrrrgh!", Arthur sat right up and looked around questioningly. What happened? What was that strange feeling on his face? In his nose, even? And the weird smell? He noticed Merlin was lying on the floor, rolling around and laughing loudly. Arthur looked at his hand, which was covered his something white and fluffy… He touched his cheek with his other hand to find out that his cheek was covered with the same white, fluffy stuff.

"Merlin? Why is there whipped cream on my face?"

Merlin wasn't able to answer; he was banging his fist on the floor, trying to stop laughing.

"_Why _is there _whipped cream _on my _face?_ _Mer_lin?", Arthur didn't bother to take off the rest of the cream of his face, so when Merlin looked up to answer, he fell back onto the floor again and continued laughing…

"Great...", Arthur sighed and went into the bathroom to clean up his face.

* * *

**Argh! I can't keep up anymore! Tomorrow will be the last chapter for now (with a nice ending of course), because I can't write as fast as the days are passing by.  
Of course, when I feel inspired (it's just to much fun to write about this to end it already) I will write another chapter and update. So if you want to keep reading these chapters, I advice you to add the story to your story alert. :)**

**Thank you very much for reading and helping me with this story! If you have random ideas/pranks/whatever, please keep them coming! I can always use them! :)**


	22. Way Into The Future

**Way into the future…**

"Okay, Arthur. This has to stop. If we continue like this, both of us are going to loose our jobs."

Although Arthur wasn't feeling too well – probably due to the hanging upside down, rope around his ankles and attached to the ceiling – he didn't want to give in to Merlin.

"Arthur, please say something!" Merlin said as he tried to scratch his itching neck. Which is quite difficult to do if one is lying on the floor, both hands and feet tied behind ones back, unable to move. Unfortunately, Arthur knew his knots. And to make things even worse, the itch started to spread down to his back.

"Hmpf," Arthur scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, which looked strangely comical in his given position. It wasn't his fault that neither of them were able to leave the house! Or even the room… He couldn't help it that Merlin had planned the snare in the same position he himself had planned to tie up Merlin and put itching powder in his neck?

"Arthur!" Merlin rolled over and was now lying on his face.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Arthur snapped back, annoyed. "It's not like _I_ can do anything."

"Well, true, but –"

"It's not like I carry a knife around with me all the time so I can free myself from snares randomly placed around the house!" Arthur continued. Merlin smirked; better not tell Arthur about the snares in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.

They went quiet. Neither of the boys knew what to do to get out of their current predicament; screaming for help wasn't any use, the neighbours were or off to work, or completely deaf. Arthur wasn't going anywhere and the only thing Merlin was able to do was roll around and wiggle a bit. Desperately trying to ignore the itch, Merlin tried to start up a conversation to kill the time.

"So… Arthur…" he began, trying to think of a topic. "How's err…"

Merlin couldn't think of anything. And it looked like Arthur wasn't going to talk to him anyway. That's when Merlin heard a door open with a creaking sound and he rolled over again to see who it was. His hopeful smile fell.

Frankenstein, the black cat, was trying to push the door open with its paw, and stuck his head in the room when the opening was big enough. He saw Merlin lying on the floor and padded over to him.

"Hi, Franky," Merlin said as the cat stared at him in wonder. The cat looked up and saw Arthur hanging. He saw Arthur's hair and noticed how it dangled as the boy moved. Those looked exactly like one of those toys he had! The cat jumped over Merlin's body and snuck up to where Arthur was hanging. His tail and behind were wagging slowly as he was patiently calculating his next steps.

Merlin followed the cat's movement, and evilly decided not to say anything.

Arthur couldn't control which way was he was facing, and was continuously turning around slowly. At the moment he was looking out of the window, discovering that trees look very funny from an upside-down angle. At the same time, he was wondering what Merlin was doing behind his back. He had heard him say _'Hi, Franky' _but what was the cat going to do to help them? Merlin was trying to train the cat, teach him a few tricks, but none of them included fetching knives or scissors.

Maybe Frankenstein was able to chew through the ropes? Arthur wasn't too positive about it, useless cat… The second that thought entered his mind, however, as though the cat itself had heard his thoughts, he felt something pull at his hair.

"Oww!" Arthur yelled.

Franky jumped back at the sudden noise, but that made the dangling strands of blonde hair even more interesting! He waggled his tail again and this time started chewing on the strand of hair he caught with both it claws.

"Franky, get out of here!" Arthur yelled, swooping his arms down to scare the cat off. Franky didn't mind though and started chewing softly on Arthur's fingers. Arthur growled and petted the cat on the head. "Not your fault…" he said gently as he tickled the cat under his chin.

"Nor mine…" Merlin added.

"Are you saying its my fault?!" Arthur went back into defence-mode.

"Well… you're the one who started it!" Merlin said, as he tried to scratch his back by wiggling his shoulders.

"You are the one who… who… returned the favour!"

"What was I supposed to do?! You really thought I was just going to think 'Haha, funny, not having any revenge'?!" Merlin cried out. The scratch wasn't going away by itself and Merlin was now rubbing his back at the rug he was lying on. Pure. Agony.

"I don't know! But this is not my fault!"

It went quiet again, both sulking and drowning in self-pity. What if they were going to be here forever? At some point, the blood in Arthur's head was going to kill him and Merlin would probably die of scratching his own back open.

"We did have fun though, didn't we?" Merlin said after a few minutes, smirking and remembering the wonderful memories.

"Yeah," Arthur sniggered. He would never forget Merlin's face during the sambal-incedent. "Precious times."

"Indeed."

After some time, Arthur decided he needed some exercise and grabbed himself by the ankles. He pulled his upper body up. It wasn't very comfortable and he wasn't able to keep himself up very long, but at least his head was feeling a bit better. He really hoped somebody was going to stop by soon: he wasn't going to last much longer.

Merlin noticed that Arthur wasn't feeling so good and suddenly realised what he had done… If they weren't going to be saved soon, he would have killed his own flatmate! Scaring the living daylights out of Arthur, Merlin started thrashing around and screaming till his throat was on fire.

"HELP!!!! PLEASE HELP US! WE NEED SOME HELP!!!"

"MERLIN!"

"CAN ANYONE HEAR US!!! WE NEED SOME HELP IN HERE!!!"

"MER-LIN!"

But Merlin couldn't hear Arthur calling his name, and Arthur kept quiet until the boy was done screaming. Merlin was panting, tears streaming down his face.

"Oh, Arthur, I am so sorry!" he whispered and pressed his face into the carpet.

"It's alright, Merlin…"

"No, it's not! You… I…" He started to sob into the carpet again. "I'VE KILLED YOU!!! I'm so sorry about this aaaaaallll!"

"Shh, Merlin…" Arthur tried to hush the boy, who was wailing out loud. "Really, it's okay. I'm not dead yet."

"But you will be!"

"Like I said a couple of weeks ago, I am too sexy to die. Remember?"

"Yeah…" Merlin sniffed and sniggered. "Yeah, I remember…"

"So no more crying, agreed?"

"Agreed," Merlin wanted to wipe away his tears and growled at the rope cutting into his flesh. There was still an occasional hiccup, but Arthur's determination to stay alive made him more positive. If Arthur was able to do it, so was he!

More time went by without anything happening. Arthur and Merlin were chatting casually with each other, Frankenstein now nibbling Merlin's toes – and the clock ticked it's way up to 1 pm. They had been in the room for half an hour now, but it felt like a lot more. The itch on Merlin's neck started to subside, but the pain in Arthur's head didn't, instead increasing to a quite painful measure.

Even though Arthur told him not to, Merlin was getting worried. Of course he noticed the twitches of pain on his friends face! But the knowledge that he couldn't do anything to help him, made his stomach ache. Franky lost interest in Merlin's toe, walked over to the door and started to scratch at it. He wanted to go out and wasn't able to open the door on his own again.

"Miauw?"

"Sorry, Franky, can't help you," Merlin said. "Great, they are going to find us covered in cat pee."

Arthur sniggered.

"I can already see your tombstone! Here lies Merlin; he even smelled when he was dead."

"Oi! I do not smell!"

"He does smell, doesn't he, Franky?" Frankenstein mewed once more.

"See, he agrees!" Arthur sniggered.

"He does not, he just needs to pee!" Merlin replied, offended.

"Don't we all…" Arthur mumbled.

"You need to go as well?"

"For the past fifteen minutes…"

Merlin couldn't help but laugh, and received a smack on the head. And that made him realise…

"Wait…" Merlin looked up at Arthur. "How long were you able to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Stupid question, but how long were you able to smack me on the head?"

"Err, dunno?"

"I hate you…" Merlin said as he rolled over, holding his wrists up at Arthur. "Untie me."

Arthur stretched out his arms and started to pick at the knots. It was hopeless.

"I can't, Merlin. They're too tight"

"Your fault."

"I… I know…"

"So, what's next?"

Before Arthur could answer, there was a knock at the front door. Merlin's jaw dropped, his eyes grew wide, couldn't believe it, but Arthur smirked silently.

"HELP!!! PLEASE!!!" Merlin started to scream again, but stopped as he heard the front door open.

"Arthur?" a deep voice asked. Merlin recognized it: Uther. The door to the living room, the door Franky was scratching at, opened and the cat slithered through the moment he was able to. Uther jumped back, patting down his coat to get rid of the non-existing cat hairs and looked up to see the two boys.

"Hm," was the only thing he said.

"Hi, father," Arthur said with a grin on his face. "You're late!"

Uther mumbled something about a traffic jam and turned to walk into the kitchen. Merlin hoped he was getting a knife to get Arthur down from the ceiling, but gasped for air as he noticed that the man was making coffee for himself! Merlin turned back to Arthur.

"He's… late?! Late?! You knew he was coming?!"

"Yeah, sure."

"YOU KNEW?!" Merlin yelled, arching his back so as to look Arthur in the face. "I cried over you!"

"IT WAS HILARIOUS!!!" Arthur started to laugh out loud. Merlin joined him after a few moments. When they were done laughing, Arthur's body was aching all over.

"Merlin…?"

"Hmm?"

"We really need to stop doing this… I mean, you were right about our jobs… Mr Smith is getting a bit annoyed with me falling asleep behind the counter. Like… every day."

"Sorry about that," Merlin said, but Arthur kept quiet. "You know it is usual that you reply with an apology yourself?"

"Okaaaaay… I'm sorry too… Friends?" Arthur stuck out his hand, wanting to shake on it.

"Haha, funny," Merlin replied, deadpanned, shaking his head as he pulled at the rope around his wrists. Arthur just smirked.

"I don't even want to know what this is about," Uther said as he cut the rope, not caring whether Arthur landed safely or not. The boy smacked down onto the floor and groaned as he pushed himself up.

Merlin took him by his shoulders and helped him up to sit on the couch. It seemed Uther really didn't want to know what it was about, because he had left when Merlin turned around to thank him.

"Doesn't hang around that fellow, does he?"

"Merlin, if it's all the same with you, I've sort of had enough with the 'hanging around' thing."

"Okay, let me rephrase that… Hang on…"

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

**Awwwww! This is it!  
Sort of! I will still update now and then, but not daily, because I've run out of chapters! I will still write them now and then, of course. When I write one, I will put it up here, of course! Thanks to everybody who has read my stories, reviewed and gave me pranks to use. Thank you, thank you!  
*is wondering why the cat was named Leonarda Da Vinci...***


End file.
